Got some info so you know the stages and how it tends to go along. Your not in actual 'active labour' till you are 3-4cm dilated. Stage Two is pushing, Stage Three is delivering the placenta. HTH xxx
Stage One
Early phase
The early phase is sometimes called the latent period or pre labour. The uterus starts to contract or tighten regularly. The contractions gradually become more painful, unlike your Braxton Hicks contractions which were irregular and didn't hurt. Each woman has her own rhythm and pace of labour. Some may not even be aware of the very early contractions and are several centimetres dilated before they realise they're in labour. As the cervix begins to open, its position in your pelvis changes, moving forwards. It softens and effaces which means that it gets thinner and springier. Feel your nose: it's firm and muscular. Now feel you lips: they're soft and stretchy. Your cervix starts out firm like your nose, and has to become soft and stretchy like your lips.
Active phase
Midwives and doctors say you are in active labour when your cervix has dilated, or opened, to three to four centimetres. Your contractions will be getting stronger and more frequent. They're also getting longer. Eventually they may be coming as frequently as every three to four minutes and lasting 60 to 90 seconds and feel very tense indeed.
Stage Two
Once the cervix has dilated to ten centimetres, the work and excitement of the second stage begin. This is the stage of labour when your womb pushes your baby down the vagina (sometimes called the birth canal) into the world and, at long last, you meet him or her for the first time. There's often a lull at the end of the first stage when the contractions stop and you and your baby can rest for a while. When the contractions start again, you'll feel the pressure of your baby's head between your legs. With each contraction and every push, your baby will move down through your pelvis a little, but at the end of the contraction, he'll slip back up again! Don't despair. As long as the baby keeps on moving on a little further each time, you're doing fine. When your baby's head is far down in your pelvis and stretching the opening of the vagina, you'll probably feel a hot, stinging sensation and your midwife will tell you that your baby's head has "crowned". As your baby's head begins to be born, she may ask you to stop pushing and gently pant. This helps make sure that your baby is born gently and slowly, and should reduce the risk of you tearing.
If you have had a baby before, the second stage may only take five or ten minutes. If this is your first baby, it may take several hours.
Stage Three
In the third stage, you deliver the placenta - the baby's life-support system that has supplied your baby with nutrients, and taken waste products away, as it has grown inside you. After the baby is born, contractions resume after a few minutes, but at a much lesser intensity. These contractions cause the placenta to peel away from the wall of the uterus and drop down into the bottom of your womb. You will probably feel that you want to push. The placenta, with the membranes of the empty bag of waters attached, will pass down and out of your vagina. Your midwife will carefully examine the placenta and membranes to make sure that nothing has been left behind. She will also feel your tummy to check that your uterus is contracting hard in order to stop the bleeding from the place where the placenta was attached.
Delivering the placenta usually takes from five to 15 minutes, but it can take up to an hour.It depends on whether you have a managed or natural third stage. Most women are surprised at how much easier it is to deliver the placenta than to push the baby out. You may like to have a look at this organ that has supported your baby throughout the pregnancy.
