Every day, more than 1800 children are born in Germany. In a hospital alone, there are 10 to 12 every day, so 300 a month and about 3600 a year. Quite a stately number, which at the same time reveals a wealth of work done by midwives and gynecologists. But as many births as we witness every day in our hospitals, so often we are impressed by the first cry of the babies, whose delicate little fingers and legs thrust energetically into the air, as if they wanted to beat the beat to “their music”.
Birth Preparation
Once the baby has made its first cry, the umbilical cord is clamped and cut. This begins the third and final stage of birth, the postpartum period. This is one of the most beautiful moments, and a satisfying feeling takes hold of us when we see the radiant, happy smile of the mother who has just had her little baby placed in her arms. Forgotten are the anxious hours before the birth, forgotten are the pains. This observation often makes you wonder. It is hard to imagine how one could forget such enormous pain – many young mothers roll around screaming in the delivery bed without even listening to the midwife’s words – almost instantly. Enlightenment is then found in those women in whom you could hear the birth less and who at first seemed very brave. But soon it was realized that it is not bravery that makes childbirth almost painless, but rather conscious action and good preparation. Those women were not afraid of their delivery; they were relaxed and thus painless. This fact may sound amazing to some, but everyone knows it for themselves who, for example, has ever received an injection. If I tense my muscles – because I am afraid of the injection – the injection really hurts me. But if the patient is not afraid of the injection, he has no reason to tense up, and the injection will not hurt. Understanding, patience and a trusting relationship between doctor and patient are of course necessary prerequisites. It is the same with a pregnant woman. During the monthly consultations at the consultation center, she should get to know her doctor and gain trust in him. During this time, she should learn and practice gymnastics, relaxation and breathing exercises, which will help her to relieve fear and pain during childbirth. Pregnancy counseling is thus a part of birth preparation by the doctor and midwife. But knowledge of the birth process itself is also part of the preparation, especially for the possible absence of pain. However, this is something the pregnant woman has to work out for herself, which is what we want to help her with in this guide.
Birth date
A normal birth occurs when the fruit has reached that degree of maturity that allows it to live outside the womb. Generally, this is when the baby weighs about 3000 grams, is 49 to 52 centimeters tall, protrudes the nails, fingers, and toe tips, and the hair on the forehead cuts sharply. The skin is pale pink, in boys the testicles have entered the scrotum, and in girls the labia majora close the vulva. The mature baby immediately cries in a loud voice, moves proficiently and can also suck vigorously. However, this maturity is not reached on a certain day, but exists for days, sometimes even weeks, without giving birth yet. This fact makes it impossible for the doctor to determine the exact date of birth. So far, it is also not known exactly what factors ultimately determine the onset of labor. It is believed that hormonal changes and shifts in the body’s salt balance are involved. However, the size of the baby certainly plays a role in the onset of labor.
Birth onset
Toward the end of pregnancy, the pregnant woman notices a distinct lowering of the abdomen. The girdle of her dress has become slightly wider, the pressure on the stomach and heart has eased, and breathing becomes freer and easier again. This lowering of the womb is often accompanied by minor contractions. Many women already think they are having their baby. Excited, nervous and completely rushed, they come to the clinic. There they are told that the contractions are completely normal and that they still have about four weeks until the birth. The actual birth begins only when contractions occur regularly, every 10 minutes – at least an albe hour in a row. Now the pregnant woman must visit the clinic.A woman expecting her first child has slightly longer than a mother who has already given birth. The total labor time for a first-time mother is 13 to 20 hours, and for multiparous mothers it is 7 to 12 hours.
Opening period
Childbirth proceeds in three major periods that every parturient should be familiar with. We call the first and longest period the opening period. It lasts from 2 to 19 hours in primiparous women, and 11 hours in multiparous women, and is used to fully open the lower section of the uterus, the cervix, from the inside nor the outside. Without opening the inner and outer cervix, the baby cannot come out of the uterus. This work of opening represents a great achievement of the body, because the cervix widens in the process to a diameter of 10 to 12 cm. Once the cervix is open, the bladder bursts in forty percent of all pregnant women. The amniotic fluid, in which the fruit floats to birth to be protected from shock and injury, empties. Often, however, the amniotic sac bursts later without posing any significant risk to the child. However, if the amniotic sac breaks and empties amniotic fluid before labor, the pregnant woman must be transported to the hospital in a recumbent position
transported to the hospital, otherwise there is a very slight risk of infection.
Discharge period
After the cervix is opened, the second stage of labor begins, called the expulsion period, which lasts 3/4 to 1 1/2 hours for a primiparous woman and 1/4 to 1 hour for a multiparous woman. Now the child is born. Usually the head comes through the pelvic canal first, followed by the shoulders under rotational movements – just like the head passage – and finally the trunk. In this stage, the pregnant woman herself must help proficiently. Shortly after the onset of a contraction, she has to push hard. Now it becomes clear whether she can correctly apply the exercises she learned in the gymnastics course. If she succeeds, she will be one of those women in whom – as mentioned at the beginning – there is less to hear than to observe. The period of expulsion, during which the child is born, is particularly demanding on the soft tissues of the abdomen, such as the vagina, pelvic floor muscles and perineum. The fully opened cervix can no longer resist the forces acting on the uterus from all sides (diaphragm and abdominal press, increased contraction of the uterine muscle), which push the child out like a roller. With the help of certain twisting movements, this “amniotic roller” overcomes the pelvic canal and stretches the vagina and vaginal outlet as far as possible. The hard, preceding part, the head, paves the way for the following body. At the moment when the head emerges from the maternal body, the pregnant woman must under no circumstances continue to push, otherwise the force of the emerging head may cause a perineal tear. Even now, the mother must absolutely follow the midwife’s or doctor’s orders. In some cases, doctors are forced to make a preventive incision to prevent perineal laceration, which occurs arbitrarily, and is sutured again under anesthesia following the birth.
Postpartum period
Once the baby has made its first cry, the umbilical cord is clamped and cut. This begins the third and final stage of birth, the postpartum period. Around 10 to 15 minutes after birth, the placenta, the placenta, is expelled. Now begins the postpartum period, during which the uterus returns to its usual size, which takes 6 to 8 weeks. During this time, there is a constant discharge, first bloody, then more watery. The uterus, which weighs 1 kilogram after birth, returns to its normal weight of about 50 grams after this time. The regression of the abdominal wall is understandably very close to the women’s hearts. But here, too, the young mother must again actively help herself. Already on the first day after delivery she can start with gymnastics. Read more about slim after birth and pregnancy. Finally, a note to those women who assume that everything comes and goes by itself. As with many things, this is not at all true for pregnancy and birth. It also requires conscious action and active cooperation – whether before, during or after birth.
