And we're supposed to be talking about how the cervix dilates, but Process, called true labor, as opposed to the false labor Just get stronger and stronger as part of the birthing Release of prostaglandins that cause even stronger contractions, and when those strongerĬontractions happen, more prostaglandins get released, and this cycle sort of continuesĪ positive feedback loop, and the contractions will Uterine contractions that are causing the Here, as you might imagine, is that we have strong That soften up the cervix and actually cause more Release other hormones called prostaglandins Posterior pituitary, and that's causing uterine contractions, and these strongĬontractions cause membranes surrounding the fetus to So first, at this point we've got a pretty high concentration of oxytocin being released from the And how are we going to do that? Well, a few different ways. The baby's head and body can sort of squeeze through. Vaginal birth to take place, the cervix needs to dilate fully, typically to about 10Ĭentimeters in diameter, which is enough so that Way of the birthing process, and it turns out that for a So we're in the first stage now, the cervical dilation stage, and we can see that this cervix here is probably going to get in the So in labor now, and this isĪ sagittal section of mom, so that you can see There's cervical dilation,Įxpulsion of the baby and the afterbirth, and in total, labor can take anywhereįrom seven to 20 hours, depending on how quicklyĮach stage progresses. Idea of what's happening in mom's body just before labor, let's look at the actual stages of labor, and there's three main stages. The cervix during labor, and we'll see that soon. The childbirth process even more than this, though. Through that pelvic outlet, because it's a little wider now. Growing fetus a bit better, and two, to make it a little easier for the baby to be born Right sides of the pelvis, and these relaxation events are important for two main reasons. But maybe a bit more importantly, it opens up the pelvic outlet by loosening the pubic symphysis joint between the left and The pelvic ligaments, so that the pelvic bonesĬan come apart a little bit to support the enlarging uterus. Hormones that's definitely been named according to what it does. By the way, the placenta starts to secrete higher levels of another hormone, which we haven't actually Mechanism here in the corner that we'll continue to work on as we go. Here from the inside, that stimulates both uterine contractions and cervical dilation andĮffacement or thinning. So when mom reaches full term, the fetus starts toĭrop lower in her uterus because it's getting heavier, and when it starts to make contact with and push on the cervix Is called the birth canal or the vaginal canal. Thigh bones or her femurs, and this here, this space, So together you call the two sides of the pelvic bones the pelvis. This bone here and thisīone here on the other side, these are the two sides of the Retracted these little bits here just to give you a better view of what everything looks like. Is supposed to be the cervix, and normally it would be moreĬonstricted, closer together, sort of like this, but I've That thin sort of membrane, is the amniotic sac or membrane. So let's look at an anterior view of mom's pelvis and her uterus. These contractions can either be called false labor contractions orīraxton Hicks contractions. These contractions are just because of the decreased levels of progesterone, and they're actually given It doesn't mean she'sĪctually in labor, though. And actually, some women feel sort of weak contractions in late pregnancy, due to the decreased Posterior pituitary gland that try to stimulate Of estrogen to progesterone kind of causes the uterine muscle to be more sensitive to other hormones, like oxytocin from the Stays pretty high, and the new higher ratio Progesterone starts to drop at about week 37, but the level of estrogen Of progesterone around relaxes the smooth muscle of the uterus, preventing it from contracting and trying to expel theīaby before its due date. Previously pretty high, because having a lot Levels start to drop off a bit by about week 37. Have been happening in mom to prepare her to give birth to her baby. Progressing toward the due date, a number of physiological changes Childbirth, also known as parturition, typically occurs within aboutĪ week of a mother's due date. Reached its full term, usually about 38-1/2 weeks, it's time for the baby to be born.
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