Childbirth (Normal and Emergency)
Childbirth is a natural process and one does not have to do too much to see it to completion. But done improperly, there can be serious complications. Majority of births do not threaten the lives of both the mother and the baby. Labor usually lasts several hours, and there is normally adequate time to arrange for a transfer to a hospital. However sometimes she presents too late, or is trapped in a place due to natural disasters and cannot reach a hospital. Such a mother may be very anxious when she starts delivering in a place that is not the most ideal place for the purpose.
The stages of Childbirth
Stage Features
First – it extends from the onset of labor to the full dilatation of the birth passage. It lasts for 12 to 14 hours. The woman experiences periodic pains in the lower abdomen and back. There is mucoid vaginal discharge, often mixed with a variable amount of blood. The membranes rupture towards the end of this stage and there is expulsion of a lot of amniotic fluid vaginally.
Second – It extends from full dilatation of the birth passage to the expulsion of the baby. It lasts for up to 2 hours.
Third – it extends from the delivery of the baby top the delivery of the placenta and membranes.
Fourth – it is the hour period after the third stage.
Emergency Childbirth
In the cities, most babies are born in hospitals or other institutions where professional help from trained nurses and doctors is available. Even in villages, deliveries are conducted in primary health centers by professionals. However sometimes the woman cannot get to a hospital and childbirth may take place at home, or on her way to the hospital in a bus, train, taxi, ambulance, or even unplanned on a plane or ship. The first aider should be able to conduct this delivery properly so that at the end of it there is a healthy mother and a healthy baby. A first aider may have to give help when a miscarriage occurs.
