month 9
Know how dilated you are without the dreaded internal exam
Y 1
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ou are in labour. You know that each contraction brings you closer
to meeting your baby, but the thing
weighing most heavily on every labouring mother’s mind is: how much closer? There are a number of ways of figuring out how much longer you have without succumbing to an internal examination, some less obvious than others, but if you focus on staying in tune with your body, you will see them.
SOUND
The way you talk and the noises you make change with each stage of labour. In early labour, you will be able to speak, in a normal voice, during each contraction and chat and laugh in between them. As labour becomes established, you will no longer be able to talk as each surge comes and you will start to ignore the people around you between surges, focusing your energy inwards. As transition and birth draw closer, you seem to go to another level of awareness. Suddenly, the sounds start to change involuntarily – you may have been moaning, talking and expressing your discomfort, but now deep guttural noises may emerge. This means you are about to start pushing.
SMELL
Usually towards the end of dilation, and just before birth, there is a special smell – like a mix of mown hay, semen and dampness. It can be very strong.
98 YOUR PREGNANCY Images: Jupiter Images
YOUR BODY AND BABY
THE PHILIPS AVENT MINI SOOTHER R124 Baby City
DILATED AM I? SHOULDEXPECT WHATYOU 3
Most of us know that the mucous plug (a sticky substance often streaked with pink, brown or
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Once you near the end of pregnancy, everything will start to creak, your centre of gravity shifts, your muscles and ligaments start to take strain and you’re constantly carrying a baby in front of you. What’s more, you are likely getting up to the loo more often. The best you can do now is to snack often to regulate blood pressure and drink lots of water (except before bedtime).
THE WALL
This is a moment where, just before transition, labouring mothers become amusingly irrational: “I want to go home now; I have had enough.” You may have been coping brilliantly
without pain relief and
suddenly demand some. You may even want to have a sleep. Many midwives call this hitting the wall and it is a sure sign that the birth is imminent and pushing is about to begin.
SHOW ‘N TELL
bright blood) that is keeping the cervix sealed can come away in early labour, or even a few days before – this is called a show. What many people don’t know is
that
there is a second show at around eight
centimetres
dilation. This second show means that birth is near. YP
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