The question of how to distinguish true contractions from false ones during the second or third birth is rarely raised - a woman already has experience that cannot be called anything other than priceless.
It is he who tells her when it is time to call the doctor, go to the hospital and start breathing according to the rules in order to facilitate the process of childbirth. But one pregnancy is not like another, and therefore, with a second birth, there may be some nuances.
In this article, we will tell you what are the features of the onset of labor in a second-bearing woman.
What is the difference?
During pregnancy, many women experience short-term uterine tension. They are practically not painful, they do not bother much, and in most cases they are repeated infrequently. These are training or false contractions.
In the first pregnancy, such sensations might not have been, but this does not mean that false contractions will not appear when carrying a second baby.
If a woman is already well acquainted with such sensations, then it will not be difficult to understand what exactly is happening.
A distinctive feature of training contractions during repeated pregnancies is that they do not appear as early as during the first.
If a woman is expecting her first child, she may begin to feel bouts of tension in the uterine muscles after 20 weeks of pregnancy. With repeated pregnancy, the muscles of the uterus are more stretched and elastic, the uterus grows and increases in size faster. False contractions, as a rule, appear closer to childbirth - after 32-34 weeks.
Harbinger contractions, which in primiparous women usually begin a week before childbirth, together with other signs of approaching labor (anxiety, insomnia, diarrhea, abdominal prolapse, etc.) in second-giving women most often "start" immediately before childbirth, and the preliminary period, which follows them also flows faster
This means that a woman who has gathered for a second or third baby can wait for the forerunners only in the last days before childbirth. In some, they do not appear at all until the preliminary period and thus begin only a few hours before childbirth.
All of the above means one thing - a second-bearing woman needs to prepare for a trip to the maternity hospital in advance.
She will have much less time to collect after the onset of true contractions than in the first birth, since all stages of labor during repeated pregnancy proceed faster. The bag must be collected from 36-37 weeks, the documents required for hospitalization are prepared and placed in a prominent place from the same time.
Start
Training tensions of the uterine muscles do not differ in regularity and cyclicity. They occur spontaneously, can be repeated in an hour, or in five hours.
It is on this basis that they can be recognized and distinguished from real labor pains. Many women claim that during the second pregnancy, false preparatory contractions were less noticeable and almost immediately turned into real ones.
The passage of the mucous plug is not yet the beginning of labor. And multiparous people are well aware of this.
But if a mucous clot comes out or leaves in parts, which dramatically changes the discharge, makes them jelly-like, pink, brown, with blood spots or streaks, then contractions can be expected in the very near future. In the case of repeated childbirth, even within a few hours.
Real contractions can be identified by their frequency. They are the same in time, the rest interval between uterine spasms also lasts for a very specific period of time. The duration of the first contractions is 20 seconds, they are repeated about once every 40-30 minutes. Gradually, the strength of the contraction increases, and the time between spasms decreases.
You need to go to the hospital when the contractions are repeated every 15 minutes. Primiparas can afford to stay at home a little longer and call an ambulance with regular contractions every 10 minutes. But the dilation of the cervix with repeated births is faster, and therefore you need to hurry.
Distinctive features of contractions in the second childbirth from false contractions correspond to the same signs at the birth of the first child.
Firstly, the frequency and cyclicity of contractions, and secondly, the localization of pain. If at the stage of preparation, softening of the cervix, sipping sensations in the lower abdomen can be observed, then the real fight always begins from the back, encircles the lower back, passes over the abdomen and spreads over the entire peritoneum. Then there is a relaxation of the uterine muscles until the next contraction.
Careful monitoring of the frequency and duration of spasms will help you not to miss the moment when it is time to go to the obstetric facility.
There are special applications for smartphones that quite accurately (but not perfectly accurately!) Determine the moment of transition of preparatory contractions into true ones and give a signal to send to the hospital. These apps are free and are called contraction counters.
Leaving water before contractions, the appearance of bloody discharge - emergency situations in which sitting at home and waiting for the contractions to appear and "disperse" is stupid and criminal. If this happens, you need to call an ambulance as soon as possible and go to the hospital.
Such an onset of labor is not considered normal, childbirth will be considered complicated a priori. Considering that all stages of repeated childbirth are faster, there is no way to hesitate.
Stages
The longest period of contractions is latent. During this period, the cervix opens up to 3 centimeters.
At the first birth, it can last 10 or 12 hours. But a woman giving birth again should be prepared for the fact that her latent period will be much shorter.
According to doctors, in the second birth, the initial stage rarely lasts more than 6-8 hours. The sensations in this case will be the same as in the first birth, but many women note that the pains were quite bearable, not as strong as the first time.
This can be explained by two reasons: psychologically, a woman is better prepared for the upcoming event, she already knows what will happen and how, she is familiar with the procedures and life of the maternity hospital, there is no strong fear and confusion, and secondly, the reproductive tract of the woman in labor is more stretched, elastic , the cervix opens easier and faster.
The second stage of contractions is active. In those giving birth to the first child, it lasts from 3 to 5 hours, in the second birth, the opening of the uterus to 7 centimeters takes about 1.5-3 hours.
At the moment of transitional contractions, the most painful, when the disclosure becomes full (up to 12 centimeters), second-birth women begin to truly appreciate their advantages over the one who gives birth for the first time. For them, this period is reduced to 15-30 minutes, while primiparas can suffer up to one and a half hours.
The attempts of those who give birth again sometimes take only 10-20 minutes, and this is also several times faster than during the first birth. But the placenta in the second birth is born a little longer than in the first, and this is also due to the physiological changes in the uterus that occurred after the birth of the first child.
A faster course of labor, however, does not guarantee the absence of complications. Of course, during the second birth, the weakness of labor forces develops less often, requiring a cesarean section, less often perineal ruptures occur, but the risk of premature discharge of water is higher, and the risk of cervical rupture during grasping contractions increases, if during the first birth she was injured and scars remained ...
The likelihood of birth trauma for a child during repeated childbirth is estimated slightly lower than during the first, but the possible occurrence of acute hypoxia in childbirth is probably comparable to the first childbirth, and therefore doctors are required to be equally attentive to the woman in labor, and from the woman - discipline and strict implementation all the requirements of the obstetrician leading the birth.
How to behave?
A multiparous woman needs to behave quickly and correctly. Do not forget for a moment that childbirth can be very fast and even rapid, which in itself is not the norm and can cause serious complications for the health of the mother and fetus.
That is why you need to be more prudent - if it is week 40, it is better to go to the hospital, taking a referral from a doctor, without waiting for contractions at home. Especially if the pregnancy was accompanied by at least some pathologies.
It is clear that there is a child at home who does not want to leave unnecessarily, but the second child also requires the participation of the mother, and for him now safe conditions of stay under medical supervision are much more important.
When contractions appear, to make it easier to endure this period, you need to remember the breathing practices that are taught to pregnant women in antenatal clinics. Usually, during the second pregnancy, women are not too eager to attend such classes, but it is still worth going at least once, so that later in childbirth, you quickly remember how to breathe correctly.
In the first stage of contractions, breathe deeply and evenly, slowly inhaling and exhaling air to achieve maximum relaxation. When the contractions become frequent and painful, a series of short inhalations and exhalations are used (exercises "Candle", "Train").
Secondary women find it easier to endure contractions also for the reason that during the first birth they have already found several positions in which some relief was felt.
Some are standing, others are sitting on a ball, while others are helped by walking along the corridor or antenatal ward in circles or zigzags. In a partner birth, both partners already know well how to take one or another position, as well as how to massage or self-massage for pain relief.
In transitional fights, it is categorically impossible to push, although the desire to do this will be huge. All women in labor with experience know that it is necessary to push “from the bottom” and exclusively at the command of the obstetrician. If there was no "Push" command, you need to breathe and wait.
At the stage of transitional contractions, multiparous people often have a misunderstanding - they remember that the first pressing sensations should not be a signal for attempts and patiently wait as long as they waited for the first time.
But the period is much shorter, and therefore some mothers "with experience" are delivered to the delivery room not only with an open neck, but also with the baby's head cut through. To prevent this from happening, you need to call the medical staff as soon as there is an acute desire to empty the intestines. They will immediately transfer the woman in labor to the delivery room.
Screaming in childbirth is a thankless occupation, depriving a woman in labor, and a baby that is so necessary for him in these difficult moments of oxygen. This statement is usually firmly engraved in the memory of a woman from the moment the first child is born. In the second birth, this rule remains unchanged.
In general, second births, according to women, are easier than the first. There are, of course, exceptions, but they are not so common.
The likelihood of complications may increase if a woman arrives late at the hospital. In the second childbirth, in some, the contractions begin so unobtrusively that women, to the last, take them for false, they may, according to reviews, even sleep through part of the latent period.
Otherwise, the procedure for the expectant mother twice is the same as for the first time. The main rule is to stay calm, to do everything in a timely manner, to help doctors, and not to prevent them from delivering your baby. By the way, it is after the second birth that women often make a rather quick decision about their third child.
After the first birth, the break can be much longer.
You can learn about some of the features of the second birth from the following video.
