Child birth stages

The normal childbirth process has three stages. The first stage of labor will begin when uterine contractions start. The contractions should be about 10-15 minutes apart. These contractions will end when the cervix is fully dilated so that the baby's head can pass through. The farther into labor, the more intense and strong the contractions start to get. The uterus contracts more frequently, which causes the contractions to come closer together. The second stage of labor will begin when the head is positioned at the top of the cervical opening. The second stage of labor is known as the delivery. This stage begins when the head has passed through the cervix and into the vagina. This stage ends when the baby come out of the mothers body. This stage can last anywhere from thirty minutes to an hour and a half. The third stage takes only a couple of minutes. In this stage the uterus once again will contract and expel the placenta from the mothers body. There are many different birth strategies. One is a natural birth, this means a birth without pain medication. Another birth strategy is a water birth, this is where the mother delivers in a birthing tub. It can be very soothing for the mother, and ease the pain of child birth. Hypo-birthing is also an option. This is where the mother visualizes a place of comfort and focuses less on the pain they are experiencing. Aromatherapy is also used to soothe the mother during birth. The scents of the different candles relaxes the mother, and makes delivering much easier. Stress hormone secretion protects the infant from oxygen deficiency, and prepares the infant for birth. Vernix Caseosa(skin grease) protects against heat loss. There are three measures of neonatal health and responsiveness; the Apgar Scale, Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale(NBAS), and the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Network Neurobehavioral Scale. The Apgar Scale is widely used to asses health at one to five minutes after birth. It is performed