Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Pregnancy birth - How Your Child Is Born

Most often, a pregnancy birth occurs between the 37th and 42nd weeks of a pregnancy. It is dangerous if a premature baby is born because the fetus will not be properly developed. On the other hand, sometimes you may require induced labor to aid pregnancy birth because the delivery is delayed.

As the first stage of pregnancy nears, the contractions become more and more frequent. The neck of the uterus dilates from being closed to opening about 4in. During the first pregnancy, the first stage may be longer than during the future pregnancies. This stage may continue for 12 to 14 hours. Then as the cervix dilates fully, the second stage starts and the baby is born. Finally, the placenta is delivered in the third stage.

What are the different methods of pregnancy delivery and why must they be preformed?

Vaginal Delivery Or Natural Child birth

This is the natural way of pregnancy delivery. The vagina’s opening thins and stretches for the baby’s head to come through. However, sometimes the tissues of the vagina can get over stretched and may tear. If the doctor thinks this is going to happen, he will perform a small cut in the floor of the pelvis. This is called an episiotomy. Once the baby is born, the cut will be stitched up with absorbable stitches.

A Caesarian Birth

A caesarian birth is performed when the doctor feels that a natural birth is too risky. An operation is performed that takes about 45 minutes. Recovery time is anywhere between 4 to 20 days. A caesarian birth or c-section may be performed because the baby is late by 10 to 12 days; the baby is in the bottom down position in the pelvis (breech), the baby is too large for the pelvis, if the placenta blocks the neck of the uterus or if the mother is suffering from a venereal disease or herpes.

That was some information on pregnancy childbirth. Read more about pregnancy birth in health manuals, at your local library or in good books and magazines. We wish you a safe and healthy pregnancy.

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