Now, don't laugh at my artwork! Yes, it's a little crude, but it does tell a story. That story being what structures are involved in the birth process! When you understand what is happening to your body, you can anticipate the physical sensations you may have. Important, how you respond and interpret the physensations of labor are totally individual! Not every woman experiences the same discomforts, and the level of discomfort will also vary. So, look to your own experience as an individual one. AVOID COMPARING with other women! Sure, listen to what your friends have to say about their experiences, however it doesn't mean what they experienced will happen to you.
Don't be afraid of your body. A woman's body is designed beautifully, and engineered to work efficiently to birth your baby.
What are the anatomical structures involved in birth? The uterus, is where the fetus will grow and develop inside during the nine months of pregnancy. It stretches in size as the fetus grows. It is a muscle, and when labor starts, it will contract and relax, in waves, to birth the baby ( Remember, because the uterus is a muscle, it responds to stress ). The uterus has a "door" or an opening to the space where the fetus is developing, which is called the cervix. The baby will pass through the cervix, and down the vagina, or more commonly called - the birth canal. Up until labor begins, the cervix is closed, long and thick, and the mucous plug is in place. No cervical change has happened. You are in labor when cervical change starts.
The Placenta, is the transfer station where all the exchanges of oxygen nd waste products to and from the baby to mom happens! Nutrients are passed from mom to baby, wastes are removed through the placenta. Immediately after birth, the placenta shrinks to the size of a melon! This action helps to detach the placenta from the uterine wall and is usually deleived soon after the birth of baby!
When labor begins, the cervix softens, or "ripens", begins to change its thickness, called "cervical thinning" or effacement, and the size of its opening, known as dilation occurs. Effacement of the cervix is measured in percentages (100% being completely thinned, like tissue paper, and 0% being long and thick). Dilation is measured in centimeters (10 centimeters is a completely dilated cervix and is equal to about 4 inches in diameter).
Contractions are neccessary for effacement and dilation to occur. With each contraction, the uterus works to pull back its muscle, causing effacement and dilation to happen, and at the same time helps baby to come down, or "descend" more into position for birth. The pressure of the baby's head against the cervix also stimulates effacement and dilation.
Contractions need to be strong for birth to happen. As labor progresses, contractions get stronger, longer, and closer together. Women experience a range in physical sensations. Contractions may feel very mild like a "menstral cramp" to severe discomfort. Some women, in early, and in early active labor, don't feel any discomfort at all. Again, this is totally individual, and unique only to you.
Speaking of contractions, what are those Braxton-Hicks everybody talks about? Yes, your uterus is gearing-up for the job of birthing your baby with "practice" contractions. They are usually mild tightening sensations of your belly! Your belly tightens, hard as a drum...and then subsides and goes away. They are irregular, mild, do not cause cervical changes, and go away with a change of activity, or movement. They can be stimulated by dehydration! So, PLEASE, drink lots of fluids daily such as water, juice, and NO diruetics like soda.
Also, should they happen to you before 36 weeks of pregnancy, and feel them 4 or more times in an hour, then call your care provider. You could be experiencing pre-term labor, and your Doctor will need to see you to determine this or not. True contractions will not go away, they cause cervical changes, are regular, and get stronger, longer, and closer together as labor progresses.
The bladder lies in front of the uterus, and just above the pubic bone. During pregnancy, especially during the first and third trimesters, you will experience the urge to go to the bathroom frequently. Why? Well, the bladder can hold up to about 1000cc of fluid, and with a growing, developing baby in the uterus, the bladder will not have the space to hold such an amount of urine, because the uterus is taking up a lot of space! As a result, you will feel the urge to empty your bladder many times during the day and/or evening.
Now, what may seem to be bothersome to you, running back and forth to the bathroom, is, well, actually a good thing! You want to empty that bladder! First of all, it can be quite uncomfortable to be pregnant with a full bladder. Also, in late labor, a full bladder can block the passage way of the baby's birth (review where it is in the drawing above). Simply emptying your bladder hourly can prevent this.
Your rectum is behind the uterus. In late labor, just before delivery of the baby, you may feel like you have to have a bowel movement. This is because as baby descends down the birth canal, you may feel a lot of rectal pressure from the baby's head putting pressure on the rectum. This is often referred to as the "urge to push". You may also experience hemorrhoids, swelling of small blood vessels, from the pressure and from pushing.
These are some anatomy highlights in pregnancy. Your childbirth educator will discuss more with you, and your book reviews them as well.
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