Every Birth Lancaster
Class 5: Intro to Second Stage
Once your cervix is fully dilated, your baby can now pass through the pelvis, twisting his way out of the birth canal and into the world. This is the second stage of labor, and it often begins with the laboring mama feeling an urge to begin pushing and ends with the birth of the baby.
When your body is in good condition (low risk and no medication), your body tends to push effectively, causing the baby to rotate, squeezing the baby (which gets rid of fluids), stretching the perineum, and birthing the baby. Generally, the head is down, then to the side, and finally, after the head is born, faces up (looking at mommy). The third stage is the process of expelling the placenta by contractions of the uterus.
Class Handouts
After Class Notes and Homework
Study Suggests Misplaced Fears in Longer Childbirths -second stage of labor
Delayed Cord Clamping Should Be Standard Practice in Obstetrics-A good read about why to delay clamping your cord.
A baby born in the caul (NSFW) -This link shows a picture of a baby born in its bag ofwaters. You can see how thin the amniotic sac is. There is almost never a "need" to break the bag of waters. It protects the baby, so protect your bag!!
I'm sorry that I muted the video partway through! You live and you learn with zoom calls. Here is the link to the video we watched. I encourage you to watch it again, the commentary is very good and everyone remains calm. Really important to see that!
A quick reminder to work on writing/journaling about your ideal birth. We will start working on your birth plans next class. As well as going over page 17, the breastfeeding questionnaire.