Labor to Birth

By JuMan
  • Period: to

    Before Labor Begins

  • The cervix is its normal size and shape

    The cervix is its normal size and shape
  • Period: to

    First Stage of Labor

  • Contractions make the cervix dilate.

    Contractions make the cervix dilate.
    The cervix also becomes thinner, changing from its usual thickness of about 3/4 inch to become as thin as a sheet of paper. This thinning is called effacement.
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    Transition

  • Transistion completes the work of the fisrt stage.

    The cervix become fully dilated to a size of 4 inches and the baby's head slips out of the uterus into the birth canal.
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    Second Stage of Labor: Crowning

  • When the top of the head appears at the opening of the birth canal, it is called crowning

    When the top of the head appears at the opening of the birth canal, it is called crowning
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    2nd Stage of Labor: Head Emerges

  • The baby's head emerges first.

    The baby's head emerges first.
    The head has changed its shape to ease passage through the birth canal. It will later return to normal. After the head, the shoulders follow. Then the rest of the baby slips out easily.
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    Third Stage of Labor

  • The woman gives birth to the placenta, no longer needed by the baby.

    The woman gives birth to the placenta, no longer needed by the baby.