Usually, the last 1-2 months before giving birth are very uneasy for a woman. One side? rather, she already wants to take her baby in her arms and press her to her chest. On the other hand, she is afraid of upcoming difficulties. She is not confident in her abilities, will she be a good mother to her child?
However, you must first give birth. And the birth of women is no less frightening than motherhood. And some even more. And this is understandable, it is possible to describe childbirth in words only on the technical side, but what about the emotions that a woman in labor experiences? And the pain? And what about the fate of the child?
But how do you determine that childbirth has already begun? When to go to the hospital? Will a woman miss the beginning of this process? It is these issues that most concern women in the last weeks of pregnancy.
The first signs of childbirth, signs by which it can be assumed that in the near future the baby can be born, can be felt 2-3 weeks before the birth. And every woman should know these signs in order to know what needs to be paid attention to, what is the norm, what is not.
The beginning of childbirth in the minds of every woman is inextricably linked to labor. However, for about three weeks a woman may encounter such a phenomenon as false contractions. These are quite strong, but painless contractions of the uterus, performing a training function. They prepare the uterus for the present work. False ones differ from labor pains. Firstly, as already mentioned, false contractions are painless, secondly, they are not rhythmic, thirdly, the interval between them is either reduced or extended, and the gap between these contractions is constantly decreasing. It is possible to say that real contractions have begun only when pain is added to the contractions of the uterus and they become rhythmic.
Around the same time, in primiparous women, belly prolapse occurs. This is the name of the process of moving a child to the birth canal. A woman may notice that it has become easier to breathe. This is because the fetus has shifted down and no longer supports the diaphragm, but it will become harder to walk and sit too. In addition, sometimes she may have strange sensations in her legs, as if an electric discharge was running from her lower back to her fingers.
Due to the prolapse of the abdomen, pressure on the bladder increases, so a woman often goes to the toilet. A large number of hormones in the blood contribute to this. They act on smooth muscles, during childbirth it is thanks to them that the cervix should open. They also affect intestinal muscles.
All this helps to cleanse, relieve the body. This is also facilitated by a decrease in appetite in women in the same period.
A few weeks before birth, the psychological state of the expectant mother changes. She begins to wash, clean, move furniture, and in the most striking cases, she starts repairs in a future children's room. In addition, she becomes nervous, her mood is constantly changing. A woman demands silence, she wants to retire. This condition is called the "nesting instinct."
The approaching childbirth also affects the fetus. He has already gained height and weight, it is already difficult for him to move. Therefore, he becomes less mobile, he still has the opportunity to gain strength before the first test in his life.
But the harbingers of childbirth - this is not the beginning of childbirth. Signs of their approach, no more. Yes, and they may not be, or they will be so weakly expressed that the inexperienced expectant mother simply will not notice them. Only some of the forerunners listed above may be present.
What can clearly indicate the beginning of labor? There are two scenarios in which events can develop:
- First, contractions begin, then amniotic fluid leaves.
- At first, amniotic fluid leaves, then contractions begin.
Amniotic fluid can only leak slightly if the rupture of the amniotic fluid is small, but can leak immediately. Both that, and another - variations of norm. If the water is just leaking, then the onset of labor is just around the corner, only a few hours are left. But if the bubble burst immediately, then it is better to go to the hospital immediately.
With fights, the picture is a little different. If a woman gives birth for the first time, then from the time of the start of labor and until the birth of the baby actually takes about 12 hours. Their intensity is constantly increasing. Usually it is recommended to go to the hospital when no more than 10 minutes pass between contractions. However, much depends on the internal state of the woman, concomitant diseases, and elementary on the distance to the hospital and traffic congestion.
The beginning of childbirth is a terrible, joyful, and exciting moment. Usually women are very afraid to miss it or to be in the wrong place at this time. However, you should not be afraid of this, childbirth is a natural process for a woman. The main thing is to monitor your condition and respond in a timely manner to the signals of your body.