Vaginal delivery is the most common way of giving birth, but some people may need medical assistance to help with the process of labor.
FatCamera / Getty Images
Stages of Labor
Labor is divided into three stages and begins well before the delivery happens:
In the weeks before labor begins, your body will prepare in subtle ways to give birth. Yourcervixwill shorten and soften, and the ligaments in your pelvic area will relax.
You enter active labor when you have regular contractions that are increasing in frequency and won’t go away with activity or movement.
Stage 1
At this stage, you may be connected to a fetal heart monitor, but if you don’t have ahigh-risk pregnancyor complications, you may be free to walk and move around. Upright positions can help move the dilation along, unless you have received epidural pain management.
If your labor slows down, pauses, or fails to progress after you have reached 6 cm dilation, your healthcare provider may take a number of steps. If your water is not yet broken, that may be done. Or your practitioner may consider the use of medications, such asoxytocin, to accelerate labor.
If your labor still does not progress despite this, your healthcare provider may discuss the option of a Cesarean birth. This is suggested when there has been no progress for four hours of adequatecontractionsand your amniotic sac has already ruptured, or six hours if your contractions are not adequate.
Who Needs to Plan a Cesarean Delivery?Some C-sections are planned, but many are done when unexpected problems happen during delivery, including:Presence of an infection, such as HIV or an active herpes lesion in the genital areaProblems with the placenta, such as placenta previa, which can cause dangerous bleeding during vaginal birthA medical condition that may make vaginal birth risky, like diabetes or high blood pressureMultiple babies like twins and triplets
Who Needs to Plan a Cesarean Delivery?
Some C-sections are planned, but many are done when unexpected problems happen during delivery, including:Presence of an infection, such as HIV or an active herpes lesion in the genital areaProblems with the placenta, such as placenta previa, which can cause dangerous bleeding during vaginal birthA medical condition that may make vaginal birth risky, like diabetes or high blood pressureMultiple babies like twins and triplets
Some C-sections are planned, but many are done when unexpected problems happen during delivery, including:
The first stage of labor is notoriously painful. Your healthcare provider or midwife may offer a variety of pain management methods during this time:
What You Need to Know About a Twin Pregnancy
Stage 2
A Cesarean delivery may be considered if you have been pushing for more than two to three hours with no progress.Episiotomy, surgical cutting at the opening of the vagina, is not routinely recommended, but may be done under certain circumstances.
What Is Breastfeeding?
Stage 3
This stage usually lasts less than 15 minutes. This is where the delivery of the placenta takes place. You may still feel contractions, and you will continue to be monitored for complications.
The biggest complication at this stage is maternal hemorrhage. Postpartum hemorrhage is blood loss of 1,000 mL or more after delivery.
Risk factors for postpartum hemorrhage include:
Postpartum Depression Treatment
Complications
After the Delivery
A Word From Verywell
There’s a lot you may worry about when it comes to giving birth. So many things could go wrong, but so many things can go right.
Postpartum Depression Awareness: Signs to Recognize
10 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Kota SK, Gayatri K, Jammula S, Kota SK, Krishna SV, Meher LK, Modi KD.Endocrinology of parturition.Indian J Endocrinol Metab. 2013;17(1):50-59. doi:10.4103/2230-8210.107841Polettini J, Behnia F, Taylor BD, Saade GR, Taylor RN, Menon R.Telomere fragment induced amnion cell senescence: a contributor to parturition?PLoS One. 2015;10(9):e0137188. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0137188National Institutes of Health.What are the stages of labor?Dresang LT, Yonke N.Management of spontaneous vaginal delivery.Am Fam Physician.2015;92(3):202-208.American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.Safe prevention of the primary Cesarean section.MedlinePlus.Changes in the newborn at birth.Hooper SB, Te Pas AB, Lang J, van Vonderen JJ, Roehr CC, Kluckow M, Gill AW, Wallace EM, Polglase GR.Cardiovascular transition at birth: a physiological sequence.Pediatr Res. 2015;77(5):608-614. doi:10.1038/pr.2015.21National Institutes of Health.What are some complications during labor and delivery?American Academy of Pediatrics/American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.Guidelines for perinatal care.U.S. Department of Labor.FAQs about Newborns' and Mothers' Health Protection.
10 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Kota SK, Gayatri K, Jammula S, Kota SK, Krishna SV, Meher LK, Modi KD.Endocrinology of parturition.Indian J Endocrinol Metab. 2013;17(1):50-59. doi:10.4103/2230-8210.107841Polettini J, Behnia F, Taylor BD, Saade GR, Taylor RN, Menon R.Telomere fragment induced amnion cell senescence: a contributor to parturition?PLoS One. 2015;10(9):e0137188. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0137188National Institutes of Health.What are the stages of labor?Dresang LT, Yonke N.Management of spontaneous vaginal delivery.Am Fam Physician.2015;92(3):202-208.American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.Safe prevention of the primary Cesarean section.MedlinePlus.Changes in the newborn at birth.Hooper SB, Te Pas AB, Lang J, van Vonderen JJ, Roehr CC, Kluckow M, Gill AW, Wallace EM, Polglase GR.Cardiovascular transition at birth: a physiological sequence.Pediatr Res. 2015;77(5):608-614. doi:10.1038/pr.2015.21National Institutes of Health.What are some complications during labor and delivery?American Academy of Pediatrics/American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.Guidelines for perinatal care.U.S. Department of Labor.FAQs about Newborns' and Mothers' Health Protection.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Kota SK, Gayatri K, Jammula S, Kota SK, Krishna SV, Meher LK, Modi KD.Endocrinology of parturition.Indian J Endocrinol Metab. 2013;17(1):50-59. doi:10.4103/2230-8210.107841Polettini J, Behnia F, Taylor BD, Saade GR, Taylor RN, Menon R.Telomere fragment induced amnion cell senescence: a contributor to parturition?PLoS One. 2015;10(9):e0137188. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0137188National Institutes of Health.What are the stages of labor?Dresang LT, Yonke N.Management of spontaneous vaginal delivery.Am Fam Physician.2015;92(3):202-208.American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.Safe prevention of the primary Cesarean section.MedlinePlus.Changes in the newborn at birth.Hooper SB, Te Pas AB, Lang J, van Vonderen JJ, Roehr CC, Kluckow M, Gill AW, Wallace EM, Polglase GR.Cardiovascular transition at birth: a physiological sequence.Pediatr Res. 2015;77(5):608-614. doi:10.1038/pr.2015.21National Institutes of Health.What are some complications during labor and delivery?American Academy of Pediatrics/American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.Guidelines for perinatal care.U.S. Department of Labor.FAQs about Newborns' and Mothers' Health Protection.
Kota SK, Gayatri K, Jammula S, Kota SK, Krishna SV, Meher LK, Modi KD.Endocrinology of parturition.Indian J Endocrinol Metab. 2013;17(1):50-59. doi:10.4103/2230-8210.107841
Polettini J, Behnia F, Taylor BD, Saade GR, Taylor RN, Menon R.Telomere fragment induced amnion cell senescence: a contributor to parturition?PLoS One. 2015;10(9):e0137188. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0137188
National Institutes of Health.What are the stages of labor?
Dresang LT, Yonke N.Management of spontaneous vaginal delivery.Am Fam Physician.2015;92(3):202-208.
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.Safe prevention of the primary Cesarean section.
MedlinePlus.Changes in the newborn at birth.
Hooper SB, Te Pas AB, Lang J, van Vonderen JJ, Roehr CC, Kluckow M, Gill AW, Wallace EM, Polglase GR.Cardiovascular transition at birth: a physiological sequence.Pediatr Res. 2015;77(5):608-614. doi:10.1038/pr.2015.21
National Institutes of Health.What are some complications during labor and delivery?
American Academy of Pediatrics/American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.Guidelines for perinatal care.
U.S. Department of Labor.FAQs about Newborns' and Mothers' Health Protection.
Meet Our Medical Expert Board
Share Feedback
Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
Was this page helpful?
Thanks for your feedback!
What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
What is your feedback?
