Childbirth

Finally the moment that you have been waiting for so long has arrived, your baby is coming!
For many women, this is still a worrying period that raises many questions and concerns.
How will it go? Can I withstand the pain? How long will it take? Is our baby healthy?
Every childbirth is different and you often only realize what is important to you during the actual delivery. By preparing upfront and knowing what is going to happen to your body during childbirth, you can take away some of those worries and insecurities.
Of course we are also there for you to share your questions, uncertainties and concerns.

You can read more about childbirth in this section of our website.

Transformation phase (first stage’s latent phase)

Towards the end of the pregnancy, your body is slowly getting ready for delivery. You may feel cramps and stinging in your abdomen and you may perceive contractions. In this phase of labor your uterus changes, we call this the transformation phase. During pregnancy, your uterus is firm in order to carry your baby. During the transformation phase, your uterus becomes flexible. The cervix becomes soft and it widens. As the force of contractions increases, the uterus is then able to open (dilate).
This phase may sometimes take place days before the actual delivery and, unfortunately, it does not say anything about when you are going to give birth. If you are unsure about what is happening in your body, you can always contact us.

Dilation phase (first stage’s active phase)

Then comes a phase where you have regular contractions. These contractions will be more powerful and painful, building up in strength and frequency. In this phase, the cervix will dilate (open). On average, a cervix dilates 1 cm per hour.
In this phase we think it is important that you contact us. We want to know how you and your child are doing. We will discuss with you what you can expect in the coming hours and what we can do for you. Please refer to the calling instructions section.

Fetal expulsion phase (second stage)

When your cervix is completely dilated (10 cm), the expulsion stage begins. Your uterus will then enter into a different kind of contraction, and you will find yourself feeling like you have to push. From this moment on you can push yourself with your body. We will help you with this and tell you what to do. This phase will end when your baby is born. On average, this phase takes an hour but sometimes it may take a little longer. If you have already given birth before, the expulsion phase can go a lot faster.

Placenta delivery (third stage)

After the birth of your baby, the placenta must still be born. Your uterus will contract and the placenta will detach from the uterus as a result. Then, we will help you in delivering the placenta too.
During this phase we also keep a close eye on the blood loss. If we think your uterus isn’t contracting properly, you’re going to lose too much blood, or your placenta doesn’t want to be born, then we can give you an injection for this. This injection contains Oxytocin which helps the uterus to contract. Often we have to stitch after the delivery to let everything heal properly. We will assess this after the birth of the placenta.