Student’s name
Course title
Instructors name
Date of submission
Prolonged First Stages of Labor
After successfully carrying the pregnancy for nine months, all expectant mothers are always eager to receive their newborns just like any other ordinary mother. For the first time pregnancies, the expectant mothers usually go through a labor pain of up to twelve hours, where an extent of that is described as prolonged labor. Prolonged labor, also widely described as failure to progress is a situation where the labor period of a first-time mother lasts for up to twenty hours or more where the other category of mothers who have previously given both encounter fourteen hours of pain unlike the normal four to maximum of eight hours. It is a rare case among recent births, though the pain leads to discomfort and draining of the mother’s emotional ability or power (Cluff, 8). Even though the situation causes no harm for the baby and the mother, prolonged pain may be a form of suffering to new mothers an act which may lead to depression.
There are several reasons which lead to longer labor, where each of them is determined by the body of the mother or other factors which may have happened during the pregnancy. Biologically, scientists and doctors have proven that effacement of the cervix may cause an increase to the duration taken during labor. If the birth control is small for the baby, the process may take much more time or sometimes fail completely (Sadler, 915). Giving birth to multiple children may also fall into the category of main causes of failure to progress. Carrying multiple babies in the womb causes weakening of the uterine contractions, which then makes the process of delivering longer as the contractions are quite slow and inefficient to the mother. In order for the delivering process to be faster, the mother’s uterine wall contractions should be strong enough to guarantee a quicker exit of the new born, hence making the mother to give birth normally.
There are several ways which are used to prevent prolonged labors, which make the process faster by either natural or man-made ways. According to a medical review done by Brian Levine, a medical doctor, research shows that there are methods which an expectant mother can use to fasten the labor through changing her body positions. He argues that people should not always rush to medical intervention which leads most of the patients into C-section or the Caesarian birth. According to Robin Elise, a researcher who came up with an article concerning prolonged births, expectant mothers should be ready to switch their positions incase their birth period have prolonged (Weiss, 24). He described several positions which an expectant mother facing longer labor may put herself in order to fasten the process.
Standing and walking is one of the positions which most of doctors’ advice mothers to think of any time they face challenges in giving birth. Standing, according to study of force increases the gravity, which in turn is useful to the mother as it increases the pressure which was originally in the cervix hence supporting the movement of the baby from the womb to the pelvis. It may sound quite funny but most of the doctor’s advice expectant mothers who are experiencing long labor to wake up, dance or do any other physical activity which will involve movement of their body (Cluff, 4). Changing the position also may fall under another explanation, where the expectant mothers in this case are advised to do extra activities like sitting on a birth ball or other chairs known as rocking chairs. If the baby’s position is making the process of birth to take longer time, these activities help in easing the pain which expectant mother goes through, thus giving her enough energy to help her uterine walls in contraction.
According to research done at Harris Birthing Centre which is located at DMC Huron Valley at Sinai Hospital, clear and rigid labor walking paths have been created and tested, whereby the staff at the hospital claim that the plan has been helping many expectant mothers who are unable to deliver normally due to body complications leading to prolonged births. In this hospital, expectant mothers are taught important ways of avoiding possible cesarean sections, where simple guidelines are set for them to follow thus achieving a normal birth (Johnson, 386). Study done by several researchers’ shows that walking can be a way of reducing time taken during labor as the act helps in opening up the pelvis. Again, walking can help in getting the baby in a position where it will be delivered faster and more safe.
There are several steps which expectant mothers are always urged to follow, where a medical doctors believe that they will greatly help in reducing the labor time. Introducing the mother to the plan is the first step, where they are taught what to do and expect. Doing regular squats may help her in the time of delivery as it helps in alignment of the pelvis hence getting the unborn baby into better position to be delivered fast (Sadler, 910). Labor advices which include showing and explaining to the mother the importance of hydration are offered during this process. During birth, the mother loses a lot of blood, which can only be compensated if the mother was taking enough water and other fluids which help the body in making more blood and generating enough energy. According to my research, shortening the labor period helps in regulation of levels of pain hence making the whole process memorable for the mother. In most cases, pain is the main idea which forces most of the mothers to choose other options of delivery such as C-section, where most of them complain of not being able to endure prolonged painful experience.
Works Cited
Cluff, Ann Hjelm, et al. “Prolonged labour associated with lower expression of syndecan 3 and connexin 43 in human uterine tissue.” Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology 4.1 (2006): 1-9.
Johnson, G. Trevor. “Prolonged Labour.” British medical journal 2.5041 (1957): 386.
Sadler, L. C., T. Davison, and L. M. E. McCowan. “A randomised controlled trial and meta‐analysis of active management of labour.” BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology 107.7 (2000): 909-915.
Weiss, Robin Elise. “Prenatal yoga for partners.” International Journal of Childbirth Education 25.2 (2010): 24.
