Page 31 - Mother & Baby - UK (March 2020)
P. 31
Bump&Birth
HERE HE
COMES!
Wonderingwhatcontractionsfeellike?Discoverall
youneedtoknowaboutthisimportantstageoflabour
hen you’re approaching painkillers. These are very powerful and help
your due date, it’s natural lessen the pain sensation for some women,
to question every twinge although others have a lower pain threshold and
– was that a contraction?! will be more affected by contractions.
Your midwife will have The best way for you to cope with contractions
Wgiven you the drill about may be different to your sister, or your best
how to count your contractions and when you’ll friend, or any other mum. And contractions
MEET THE know it’s time come into hospital, but it can change as you progress through labour, so what
EXPERT be hard to imagine just what they’ll feel like helps you at the beginning might need tweaking
and how you’ll cope when they do arrive. towards the end. The good news is that
Tracey Hunter has Luckily, we’ve got all the info you need to help contractions typically start in a gentle way,
been a midwife for you cope when your contractions do begin. and build up their intensity gradually, so you
25 years and is a will probably have time to experiment.
mum-of-two HOW DO THEY WORK?
‘When you have a contraction, your uterine WHAT WILL HAPPEN?
muscle is tightening,’ explains midwife Tracey Understanding what your contractions are
Hunter. This muscle inside your womb is strong. doing through the process of labour, and how
Really strong. After all, it’s responsible for they are likely to change during it, will also
moving your baby out of your womb and into help you cope. ‘There are three stages in
the birth canal. It works in a unique way; if labour,’ explains Tracey. ‘During the first, the
you exercised any other muscle in your body, contractions make your uterus smaller, pushing
you would tighten it to make it shorter, and your baby down onto the lower part of your
then relax it so it returns to its normal length. womb, the cervix. The pressure creates an
But each time the uterine muscle contracts opening that your baby will pass through in the
during labour, it gets slightly shorter, so each second stage of labour.’ This first stage can last
contraction makes the uterus tighter. This is for several hours, so be prepared for it to take
called retraction, and it’s what nudges your time – you don’t need to do anything, other than
baby from your womb and into the world. stay calm and let your body follow its instincts.
When your cervix has opened up to 10cm in
WHAT DO THEY FEEL LIKE? diameter, the second stage of labour begins.
This tightening movement starts ‘Lots of women find the contractions easier to
off feeling like a period pain deal with at this point,’ says Tracey. ‘And that’s
Braxton Hicks
and gradually becomes more because at this stage your contractions give you
contractions intense and more regular. the urge to push. And many mums find that
Some women have ‘practice’ Some women will feel pain doing something helps them to cope.’
contractions. These are known as in their lower back, others You’ll know when to push. It’s a similar
Braxton Hicks contractions and they in their sides, and some feeling to knowing that you need to go to the
happen before you go into labour, any feel it all the way round. loo, and you’ll respond instinctively to your
time from 16 weeks. They don’t hurt, but What you experience is body. And you don’t need to be taught how to
you’ll feel a tightening sensation. You unique to you, because push – again, you’ll just know. Your midwife will
might also see your bump tense and your body produces encourage you to push until each contraction
go hard. Your uterine muscle is hormones called fades away, and to rest in between to conserve
contracting and limbering endorphins, which act as your energy. This stage of labour is shorter than
up for the real deal!
mothe ra ndbaby.co.uk | March 2 0 2 0 | 2 9
