Delivering a baby is one of the most miraculous things a woman's body can do, and also one of the most painful. If you're pregnant, or if you plan to get pregnant soon, you may be wondering what actually happens to your body when you go into labor. Here's what the experts say you should be on the lookout for...
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00:00Delivering a baby is one of the most miraculous things a woman's body can do, and also one
00:05of the most painful.
00:06If you're pregnant, or if you plan to get pregnant soon, you may be wondering what actually
00:11happens to your body when you go into labor.
00:13Here's what the experts say you should be on the lookout for.
00:17Your water breaks
00:20One of the first things that happens when you go into labor is that your water breaks.
00:23OB-GYN Dr. Sherry Ross shares that this is medically known as spontaneous rupture of
00:29membranes.
00:30Just like the other parts of the birth process are different for each woman, you will experience
00:34your water breaking differently than other women will.
00:37According to Dr. Ross,
00:38"...it may be a subtle leak or a big gush when your water breaks and you may or may
00:43not have uterine contractions."
00:45But one thing is definite, early labor will begin within hours of your water breaking.
00:51No need for food
00:54You would think that giving birth would make you ravenous.
00:57After all, your body is doing a lot of tough physical work.
01:00However, OB-GYN Dr. Stephanie Romero told Splinter that's not the case.
01:05She shared,
01:06"...people get very worried about not eating while they're in labor, but you just don't
01:10get hungry, and you don't want to eat."
01:13Despite your body working so hard to push out your baby, you won't get tired, either.
01:18Dr. Romero continues,
01:19"...fight or flight keeps you awake and gives you the power to keep pushing, no matter what
01:24time of day someone is in labor, whether it's 1 a.m. or 1 p.m., they are wide awake
01:29and in the moment."
01:31The contractions start
01:34Contractions are one of the more well-known parts of the labor process.
01:37When you go into labor, your uterus contracts and starts pushing your baby out.
01:42Contractions are painful, but they're necessary to bring your baby into the world.
01:45In fact, your uterus is one large muscle.
01:48As you get closer to term, it will start to contract.
01:51These early contractions, known as Braxton Hicks contractions, aren't actually a sign
01:55of labor.
01:56Instead, they're getting your body ready for the labor that is coming in the future.
02:01Dr. Ross advises,
02:02"...once the uterine contractions appear closer together with increased intensity, this is
02:07a sign that labor has started."
02:09Regular and painful uterine contractions occurring every three to five minutes for two hours
02:14are a sign early labor has begun.
02:16Sorry, sorry.
02:17Give me some drugs.
02:18You don't need drugs.
02:19Give me this.
02:20I want those drugs.
02:21Let it go.
02:22Hello, back pain
02:25While contractions are painful in and of themselves, they can also cause other pain.
02:30Dr. Ross explains,
02:32"...since the uterus is a large muscle, the cramping sensation of the uterus tightening
02:36mildly may be felt in the back when the contractions first begin."
02:41You may also feel back pain that's unrelated to contractions.
02:44Kate Johnson, a certified nurse midwife, told Parents magazine,
02:48"...normally, a baby descends the birth canal with its face pressed against the mom's spine.
02:53But in some cases, the baby descends with its skull hitting the mom's spine."
02:57Ouch.
02:58All about the mucus
03:02During your pregnancy, there is a mucus plug that covers your cervix to help protect your
03:06baby from infection.
03:07But as you might imagine, a lot of bodily fluids come out of your body along with your
03:11baby, and your mucus plug is one of those.
03:14If it doesn't come out before labor, a lot of mucus will definitely come out during labor.
03:19Dr. Romero told Splinter,
03:21"...some people say they've lost their mucus plug, but in reality there is no one real
03:26plug.
03:27It's just lots and lots of mucus in the cervix that gets discharged and discharged and discharged."
03:34It looks like you blew your nose out of your vagina.
03:37That's terrible.
03:40It's not all you lose
03:42In addition to losing mucus during labor, you also lose a lot of blood.
03:46But don't worry, blood loss is perfectly normal.
03:49In fact, the body actually produces more blood during your pregnancy specifically to prepare
03:53for labor.
03:54Even after you deliver your baby, that doesn't mean the blood is over.
03:58OB-GYN Dr. Shannon Clark told Splinter,
04:01"...there's a big gush of blood that goes along with the placenta being delivered, and that
04:05scares women a little bit.
04:07But as physicians, we're programmed to know what's a normal amount of blood and what looks
04:12different and needs extra attention."
04:15Second delivery
04:16After you deliver your baby, you'll deliver your placenta as well.
04:21Then your uterus will begin to contract to its pre-pregnancy size.
04:25Even though it's painful, your uterus contracting is actually a good thing.
04:29Dr. Gaither explained,
04:31"...by clamping down, it also serves to close off all those open vessels that are present
04:36after the placenta delivers."
04:38A lot of stretching
04:41Just as your cervix changes during labor, your vagina also stretches when you give birth.
04:46If you're worried about what will happen after you give birth, rest assured that while it
04:50won't go back to being completely the same as it was, it will heal, and the swelling
04:55will go down.
04:56Dr. Mary-Jane Minkin told Health,
04:58"...this area can feel fairly uncomfortable for some time, though it does get better within
05:03a few weeks."
05:05She also shared that sitting in a warm tub can help the swelling and pain subside.
05:09And it's all worth it.