Delivery is expected for a long nine months. All this time, the woman mentally imagines how this will happen, and even if she has already given birth before and has experience, all the same, thoughts about the upcoming process cause excitement.
It is clear that it is impossible to be calm and calm when going to the hospital, and no matter how psychologists call for calmness, in practice this is not feasible. But certain rules of conduct still need to be followed. This will help to give birth easier and faster, without injuries and complications and not cause disappointment with your inappropriate behavior among medical personnel or a partner if the birth is planned together.
We will talk about the rules of conduct in childbirth within the framework of this article.
"It seems to have begun!"
Having seen how the heroines of the films with such an exclamation clutch at the stomach and begin to scream and moan heart-rendingly, a woman may think that this is how contractions begin, and that screaming from the very beginning is quite natural. This is a misconception. Everything starts quite smoothly and gradually, and there is absolutely no need to shout at the same time, because you are not in the cinema and do not aim to dramatize the situation.
Feeling the rhythmic repetitive contractions of the uterus (tension and relaxation at regular intervals), calmly arm yourself with a watch or smartphone with a contraction counter program. Determine two important points: how long the contractions are repeated and how long the uterus remains tense from the beginning of the contraction until its end.
You need to go to the hospital when contractions are repeated every 10 minutes. But at first, they usually repeat every 30-40 minutes, and this is completely normal. Watch the frequency and calmly wait for the desired intensity.
If childbirth did not begin with contractions, but with the fact that the water left, without panic, dial the number "03" and tell the dispatcher the gestational age, home address, color of the diverted water, wait, lying on your side, for the ambulance team and go to the hospital.
The first contractions are usually not as painful as many people think. A woman may well go to the shower with them, check if she has collected everything in the hospital, call her husband, mother, friend, drink tea with a small piece of chocolate (to gain strength). There is nowhere to rush - this period is the longest, it can last several hours.
At this stage, it is very important not to strain or get nervous.... Stress and fear give rise to the production of shock doses of the hormones adrenaline and cortisone, the muscles tense because of them, the dilatation of the cervix becomes difficult, which increases pain and increases the risk of complications during childbirth.
What should not be allowed in the behavior at this stage?
- Fuss, panic, tantrum and throwing - we tune in to the good, remember the methods of relaxation, meditation, you can take a nap to stock up on strength. We take a memo with a list of things, calmly check the presence of everything in our bag. If something is not there, do not rush frantically in search - then the relatives will bring everything. If the contractions did not start at home, you should not rush home for a bag - everything you need, including a shirt and a dressing gown, will be given at the hospital, and then you can ask your family or friends to bring your things.
- Haste - the period of contractions is quite long, and a few hours is quite enough to wash and dress, and calmly come to the hospital. Taking a shower in a hurry can lead to a fall, injury, placental abruption, broken arms and legs, and this is now completely out of time.
- Lack of documents - if you can forget things, then the policy, exchange card and passport should be with you from the very beginning of the 3rd trimester, especially if you leave home for a long time. Without these documents, in the maternity hospital, you will be assigned to the observation department, where patients with infectious diseases and unexamined women give birth, because the doctor will not have evidence that you were examined.
- Thoughtless heroism - attempts to get to the hospital with contractions or loose waters while driving your own car can lead to sad consequences. Contractions can become more intense exactly at the moment of making a maneuver on the road, you can provoke an accident, harm yourself and others. Better to go to give birth in an ambulance. This is a special transport equipped with everything necessary in case of unforeseen situations, and the team knows what to do if childbirth suddenly becomes rapid and the child is asked to go outside right in the ambulance.
You need to behave correctly in the admission department of the maternity hospital. Do not try to hide anything from the doctor - neither the number of abortions, nor the illness of your childhood. Everything matters.
Period of contractions
This period is the most difficult, and it is in the process of fights that women often demonstrate the most disgusting behavior - screaming, crying, at which point they scold the staff and the entire male race. If you want to give birth faster, you should definitely not behave like this during labor.... As already mentioned, muscle clamps give rise to weakness of labor forces, the cervix opens slowly and painfully.
The task of the woman in labor at this stage is to relax as much muscularly and psychologically as possible after each contraction, to catch every minute to rest. Correct breathing will help.
Deep breaths and slow exhalation between contractions and a series of short breaths at the peak of the contraction - this will help the cervix to open more efficiently, and the baby will give the amount of oxygen he needs now.
Until the contractions are too strong and frequent, you can lie on your side, stand, including on all fours, with support on a chair, table, windowsill, partner, use free behavior - move, walk. This promotes faster opening.... Treat it like work - there is a task to survive the next fight in order to help yourself and the baby, and no one except you can cope with it.
Maternity hospital regulations usually prohibit eating or drinking during labor. This is a reasonable prohibition, because a woman may need anesthesia, anesthesia, for which a full stomach is a contraindication. And therefore you should not demand food and drink, complain about the refusal and threaten with complaints to the Ministry of Health.
What not to do at this stage of labor.
- Shout - when screaming, the air quickly leaves the lungs in a continuous stream, and the breaths are shallow, shortened. This leads to fetal hypoxia, and also takes away strength from the woman in labor. If there is a need to make sounds, it is better to replace the cry with a moan as you exhale, but exhalation should still be done long and smoothly.
- Drink water - it is permissible only to rinse your mouth with water and spit it out if there is a feeling of dryness.
- Retain urination - go on small need as much as you want. Keep your bladder empty to speed up the contractions and reduce the pressure on your uterus.
- Refuse categorically from anesthesia or other obstetric care... Even if you are an ardent supporter of natural childbirth without pain relief or other assistance, carefully listen to the information that medical personnel convey to you. There are procedures and manipulations in which the need arises suddenly, and your persistent refusal can cause death or disability of the fetus.
Separately, I would like to talk about pain. Demand to anesthetize you immediately and now is not worth it... Opening of the neck in labor is a natural, painful, necessary process.
But, by law, any woman can ask for certain measures of pain relief if the pain becomes unbearable. They cannot deny her this.
These measures include epidural anesthesia, intravenous analgesics and antispasmodics, sedatives.
Period of pushing
Attempts begin when the cervix is fully dilated and, unlike contractions, a woman can control them, more precisely, regulate their strength at the command of an obstetrician. The main thing at this stage is to trust the staff as much as possible. During this period, doctors are constantly with the woman in labor, they do not leave anywhere.
It must be remembered that pushing can only be done after the obstetrician gives the appropriate command.
The sensations of the fetus when passing through the narrow birth canal are also not the most pleasant, and you should not complicate them with unauthorized actions that can cripple the child.
The instruction is very simple: focus on the obstetrician or doctor who is next to you. As soon as the command "push" is given, you need to draw air into the chest and hold the breath, "squeezing" the child out. Correct behavior during pushing means not trying to sit down, not trying to pinch or bring the hips.
At this stage, you cannot:
- push for the head - when pushing, direct the effort down, not up, otherwise it can lead to hemorrhages in the face and eyes, and the effectiveness of pushing will be almost zero - the child will not move through the birth canal.
- Shout - as in the period of labor, the cry at this stage of labor takes away the strength of the woman in labor and deprives the baby of sufficient oxygen supply. The baby goes through the birth canal, but it is still connected to you by the umbilical cord, through which it continues to receive oxygen from the blood.
Failure to comply with the requirements of the obstetrician during attempts is fraught with ruptures of the perineum, birth trauma in the baby.
Successive period
The biggest mistake a woman in labor makes in the final stage of labor is early relaxation. After the child was born, you should not relax ahead of time, because the placenta is also to give birth. And this period is very important... The duration of the subsequent period can be short - from 10 minutes, or long - up to an hour. In any case, having rejoiced at the birth of a baby, it is important to continue listening to the doctor's requirements.
The birth of a "child's place" is accompanied by a feeling of weak contractions, and at the command of the obstetrician, you will have to push again so that the placenta, which is no longer needed, can leave the uterine cavity. After that, you can relax and rest - you did it, your baby was born!
Useful Tips
To make labor easier and to be proud of your exemplary behavior afterwards, you need to understand that the medical staff is doing everything possible to help you, not make it difficult. therefore be more patient with vaginal examinations, despite the fact that they do not give too pleasant sensations.
Even if you learned almost everything about the birth process in advance from the literature, the Internet, you should not interfere with the work of doctors and prevent them.
If there are certain wishes, for example, you do not want to stimulate labor without urgent need, it is better to discuss this with the doctor in advance, for example, immediately upon arrival at the hospital.
You have the right to give or not give your consent to certain manipulations, but do not be too categorical - there are situations in which you cannot do without the help of medicines.
If in doubt, ask for clarification... Physicians are obliged to justify all their decisions and actions to the patient.
