labor

Information about labor and delivery, anesthesia, and delivery options.

Premature labor and delivery is the #1 reason for newborn death. You should call the doctor or go to the hospital if you have any of these symptoms or signs.

The definition of the term children is important when answering this question. If your children are older and can take care of themselves (teens and older) the hospital may allow children to stay overnight in place of your partner.

Most women don't have to report to the hospital immediately at the start of labor. If there are no complications and the pregnancy has been normal and uneventful, mom can stay at home and take a shower before heading to the hospital.

There are few hospitals that refuse women the right to change the bed linens to a personal set during labor. However, the bed linens should fit the hospital bed snugly for safety reasons.

A birth plan can help guide the birthing process with basic instructions, wishes and expectations outlined for labor coaches, nurses and doctors. However, writing a birth plan does not mean labor will go as planned.

Labor classes like Lamaze are available for women who want to ease labor pain and learn techniques for self control and self awareness during the birthing process. Other birthing classes include the Bradley method, Leboyer method and breastfeeding classes.

Solid food is that source of energy you could really use about five
hours into labor, but the one thing you will be denied if you think of
solid food as a full meal.

The number of people allowed in the delivery room will vary by hospital. Some hospitals have strict rules allowing only two or three people in the room at one time. Typically, that means the partner or coach and one other guest.

Filming or photographing the birth of your child is an extremely
personal choice, but not all hospitals, birthing centers or
obstetricians allow YOU to make that choice.

Family is all about support and love and there is no better time to
have tons of both than the time you spend in the delivery room. Discuss
your feelings about immediate and extended family being part of the
delivery with your partner early in the pregnancy.

All 40 weeks of pregnancy boils down to one moment – labor. A labor
coach is someone who's there to keep mom on track, get dad's head out of
the clouds and even help keep family members informed and appeased
during the birthing process.

This is a great review from the British Medical Journal of tocolytic therapy, treatment to stop preterm labor. It reviews  what works and what does not. There are two tocolytics that seem to have the highest success rate: prostaglandin inhibitors (eg indomethacin, ketorolac)  performed best closely followed by calcium channel blockers (nifedipine, nitrates).

For women making slow progress in spontaneous labour, treatment with oxytocin as compared with no treatment or delayed oxytocin treatment did not result in any discernable difference in the number of caesarean sections performed.

Higher dose of oxytocin starting and increment dose (4 mU per minute or more) was associated with a reduction in the length of labour and in caesarean section, and an increase in spontaneous vaginal birth. 

Most methods of non-pharmacological pain management are non-invasive and appear to be safe for mother and baby, however, their efficacy is unclear, due to limited high quality evidence. In many reviews, only one or two trials provided outcome data for analysis and the overall methodological quality of the trials was low.

Epidural analgesia appears to be effective in reducing pain during labour. However, women who use this form of pain relief are at increased risk of having an instrumental delivery.

A policy of labour induction compared with expectant management is associated with fewer perinatal deaths and fewer caesarean sections.

Hospital rules regarding partners, coaches or spouses staying the night
of the birth vary by hospital. Some hospitals encourage partner support.
Staff will setup a bed and even bring meals to your partner as a guest.

Our findings indicate that elective induction of labour at term gestation can reduce perinatal mortality in developed countries without increasing the risk of operative delivery.

As the number of cesarean sections has risen sharply, with no clear evidence that they improve the health of mothers or babies, experts say that childbirth has become overly medicalized and overly expensive. Now some hospitals are making an effort to reduce those trends.

Before labor begins, you may have to deal with the idea that someone
other than you and your partner want to attend the birth. Should your
mom be in the delivery room or should this event be kept between you and
your partner? Here are a few things to consider.

However, some dads are excited by the idea of experiencing the birthing
experience with their daughters. Before saying yes or no, think about
all aspects of the birthing process and how you truly feel about dad
being there.

Guests in the delivery room are a topic couples should discuss well
before labor begins. How many people do you want around during labor? Is
there a difference for you between labor guests and guests who you want
to experience the active pushing phase?

Many women have feared the pain of labor since childhood. Even before anyone tells you that it’s painful, it’s easy to draw such a conclusion when you consider what you know about the size of a baby versus what you know about female anatomy.

There was no significant difference in full-term or non-full-term births rates and mean newborn birth weight between for those who continued and discontinued breastfeeding during pregnancy. 

Out of three pregnancies she only went into labor once, but that once was more than enough for me. During the three hours of labor she endured, I learned 10 important things I believe new fathers can learn from.

According to researchers, the guidelines for progression of labor before
suggesting a C-section delivery are based on outdated clinical studies.

It's a fact. Most women got through labor in preparation for delivering the baby. But why is it happening and how do you know you are in labor?

The best way to predict whether the induction is going to be successful, and whether you are going to have a normal delivery is to do a vaginal examination and check the cervix for 5 different parameters, and adding them up for the Bishop score.