It's an amazing experience to bring a baby into the world, so it's normal for pregnant women to look forward to giving birth. However, anticipation of giving birth can also be associated with some concerns. If this is your first baby, you may be concerned about the labor itself, and you may be wondering what it will be like.

 

It's best to talk all of your options over with your doctor and find a birth method that you're comfortable with so that you and everyone involved in giving birth is fully prepared for the big day.

Giving Birth: The Labor and Delivery and Birth Process
Recognizing the signs and symptoms of labor can help you know when to come to the hospital and when it's time to call your doctor.

Learning about the stages of labor can help you know what to expect during labor and delivery.

Three Stages of labor

Stage 1 of Labor: Contractions begin and make the cervix dilate and efface
When regular contractions begin, the baby moves down into the pelvis as the cervix both effaces (thins) and dilates (opens). How long labor lasts and how it progresses is different for every woman. But each stage features some milestones that are true for every woman.The first stage of labor takes place in two phases: early labor (latent phase) and active labor (rapid cervix dilatation until fully dilatation).

Stage 2 of Labor: Cervix is fully dilated, pushing phase and giving birth
The second stage of labor, begins after your cervix is fully dilated and you begin pushing to allow your baby to be born. It ends with giving birth of the baby.

Stage 3: Postpartum and delivery of placenta after giving birth
During the third stage of labor, after giving birth to the baby, the placenta, which gave your baby food and oxygen through the umbilical cord, is delivered. While you are bonding with your new baby during the first minutes of her life, your provider will get you ready for this final stage.

Pain Relief When Giving Birth
One of the best ways to cope with the pain of childbirth is to have childbirth preparation and get ready prior to your delivery date by becoming informed about your many options for pain relief when giving birth.

Most women who have an option between different methods of pain relieve when  giving birth debate the option about whether or not to receive epidural pain relief.

An epidural is considered safe, and the rate of epidurals in most hospital offering this option often exceeds 80-90%. However, if this is not the right pain treatment option for you and if you are considering trying to experience the birth of your child naturally, then you may want to look into signing up for lamaze classes so that you can learn to relax and breath your way through the pain.

It is also a good idea to study up on all of the latest and greatest pain medications and alternatives available so that if your labor pain eventually becomes too much to experience natural childbirth, you will know which pain relief is right for you and your baby.

Get all of the information for understanding epidurals and about what an epidural is. Also find out about other labor and delivery options, different positions while giving birth, getting oxytocin or pitocin for labor induction and stimulation of labor, and other alternatives.

The more your prepare yourself prior to the big day, the better equipped you will be to make the right decision for the immediate situation.

Complications When Giving Birth
The biggest concerns may have to do with delivery complications. What is the possibility that there could be a complication, and how will this affect the delivery, and the health of you and your baby?

The best thing you can do to ease your mind as you approach the big day is to do your research. Ask your doctor about your chances of different complications like infections, too big or too small babies, abnormal labor, breech birth or premature rupture of membranes, cesarean delivery, forceps or vacuum, and episiotomy. 

Get him or her to explain the different complications and delivery techniques they may have to use if everything doesn't go as planned, like episiotomy, stripping membranes, and c-sections.

Finally, you may also want to check on post-partum issues so that you know what will be happening directly after delivery too.