{"id":116,"date":"2015-12-08T22:36:44","date_gmt":"2015-12-08T22:36:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/brooksidepress.org\/ob-ped\/?page_id=116"},"modified":"2023-08-20T22:03:20","modified_gmt":"2023-08-20T22:03:20","slug":"2-3-signssymptoms-of-labor","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/brooksidepress.org\/ob-ped\/lessons\/lesson-2-normal-and-emergency-childbirth\/section-i-general-information\/2-3-signssymptoms-of-labor\/","title":{"rendered":"2-03. SIGNS\/SYMPTOMS OF LABOR"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>a. <strong>Contractions<\/strong>. Rhythmic, involuntary contractions of the uterus accomplish\u00a0the process of birth which is called parturition.<\/p>\n<p>These involuntary contractions (also\u00a0called labor pains) become more intense, last longer, and occur closer together in time\u00a0until they finally cause the cervix to dilate (to open) to a diameter of 10 cm (4 inches).<\/p>\n<p>As the uterine contractions become stronger, longer, and closer together, abdominal\u00a0muscles contract, causing the woman to feel like bearing down or pushing.\u00a0Contractions of two sets of muscles (uterine and abdominal) expel the fetus and the\u00a0placenta. The woman often feels uterine contractions as high or low back pain.<\/p>\n<p>b. <strong>Progress of Contractions<\/strong>. As labor progresses, you can feel the\u00a0contractions by placing your hand on the mother&#8217;s abdomen, just above the umbilicus\u00a0(the navel).<\/p>\n<p>An early sign of labor is the discharge of a blood-containing mucus called\u00a0the bloody show. This mucus has accumulated in the cervical canal during pregnancy.\u00a0Another early sign is the rupture of the amniotic sac, allowing clear fluid to trickle or\u00a0gush from the woman&#8217;s vagina.<\/p>\n<p>c. <strong>True Labor.<\/strong> The mother is in true labor if:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">(1) Uterine contractions are occurring at regular intervals.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">(2) Contractions of the uterus are painful and hard.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">(3) Pain is felt in both the front and back of the abdomen.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">(4) Dilation and effacement of the cervix is accomplished.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">(5) The fetal head is starting to descend.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">(6) The fetal head is fixed between contractions.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">(7) Bulging or rupture of the membranes of the cervix occurs. (This sign\u00a0may or may not occur in true labor.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>a. Contractions. Rhythmic, involuntary contractions of the uterus accomplish\u00a0the process of birth which is called parturition. These involuntary contractions (also\u00a0called labor pains) become more intense, last longer, and occur closer together in time\u00a0until they finally cause the cervix to dilate (to open) to a diameter of 10 cm (4 inches). As the uterine contractions become &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/brooksidepress.org\/ob-ped\/lessons\/lesson-2-normal-and-emergency-childbirth\/section-i-general-information\/2-3-signssymptoms-of-labor\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">2-03. SIGNS\/SYMPTOMS OF LABOR<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":28,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-116","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brooksidepress.org\/ob-ped\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brooksidepress.org\/ob-ped\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brooksidepress.org\/ob-ped\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brooksidepress.org\/ob-ped\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brooksidepress.org\/ob-ped\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/brooksidepress.org\/ob-ped\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/116\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":540,"href":"https:\/\/brooksidepress.org\/ob-ped\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/116\/revisions\/540"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brooksidepress.org\/ob-ped\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/28"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brooksidepress.org\/ob-ped\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}