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Monday, December 29, 2008

Judging Progress in Labor

Dilation is not the only thing happening when a mother is laboring to deliver her child.
She can take weeks to dilate or hours. So, that is not always a good marker.
More importantly is the position of the baby in relation to the cervix (the stations) & how "ripe" the cervix actually is. (effacement)
Even more important is the emotional "map" of labor.
Follow this link at the Birthing Naturally website to see what emotional checkpoints that a support person can learn to recognize, as to how labor is progressing through each of the stages of labor.

2 comments:

Cherylyn said...

I have a question that's not really related to this topic, but I thought I'd post it anyway. I've always birthed my babies in the hospital, but I'm planning a home birth with this one. In the hospital I needed a doula to be my support and advocate, in addition to my husband. With a home birth I will have my husband there, my midwife and one of her apprentices. My midwife assures me that I won't need any additional help, but I keep wondering if I should hire a doula as well. Do you have an opinion on this?

Cherylyn said...

Thank you for your response on my blog. My midwife is fine with whatever I choose to do, and I feel I'll have enough support from her and her assistant, especially since they'll be with me the whole time. My doula who was with me for two births, has actually moved to Virginia and won't be here when I have my next baby. If she were still near me I would love to have her here. This is new territory for me, and I'm really excited. Thanks again for your feedback!