Each mom is looking forward to the birth of her baby and is preparing in every way for this event. But is she ready for the surprises that may lie in wait in the delivery room? After all, no one can predict what the birth will be and how well they will end. In addition to cesarean section, there is the option that a woman will have a rapid birth, the causes and consequences of which we will consider in this article.
What it is
First you need to understand why the body is trying to suddenly “push” the child. Natural childbirth can be complicated by the fact that contractile function is impaired in the uterus. Initially, you need to prepare for the fact that the delivery will be somewhat delayed:
- The cervix will open much more slowly than usual.
- The underlying part of the fetus, or rather the head or gluteal part, for a long time will be firmly pressed to the entrance to the small pelvis, which is not a normal phenomenon.
- After a while, this part will begin to move very rapidly along the birth canal.
If we consider how long a rapid birth lasts, then this period will be equated with generally accepted norms, however, the process of child exit is significantly accelerated. But in some cases, the period of contractions is also reduced. In such cases, rapid births in primiparous pass in just six hours, and in multiparous in general in four hours.
Why it happens
From the previous paragraph it is clear what processes occur in the woman’s body, but now you need to understand what affects this. So, the rapid birth of the causes have the most diverse and each of them has a number of features. To understand all the existing reasons, we will consider them in as much detail as possible.
Genetic pathology of muscle cells
This is a congenital pathology in which muscle excitability rises sharply. This means that in order for the muscles of the uterus to begin to contract, it takes significantly less time than during natural childbirth. Such a pathology can occur on its own, but is more often inherited from mother to daughter. And even if someone on the female side once had a fast or quick birth, this can be repeated in several generations.
Hyperactivity of the nervous system
Everyone knows that our thoughts and fears have a strong effect on the body. Emotionality is especially increased in pregnant women. The closer the day the baby appears, the more nervous the expectant mother. This can be a fear of meeting, pain, consequences and many other fears. Many mothers are simply not psychologically prepared for this process, and it is precisely such a state of a woman in labor that can become the reason for the rapid development of labor activity. Is it possible to prepare for this? Yes you can. For this, there are now many courses and trainings where they will prepare not only mom, but also her partner.
Impaired metabolism
If, even before pregnancy, a woman suffered from diseases of the endocrine glands or her metabolism was impaired, then this can cause rapid childbirth in both multiparous and primiparous. This includes increased production of hormones of the adrenal glands or thyroid gland, as well as any other disorders in this area.
Gynecological diseases
Pregnancy is not insurance against all kinds of infections in the field of gynecology. An inflammatory process may affect the course of labor. Multiparous births have rapid births if the first child was born too quickly and the process went through with injuries for the mother or baby. Do not neglect to visit a gynecologist during pregnancy in order to detect an infection or inflammation in time and get rid of it before the onset of labor. After all, this leads not only to a violation of this process, but also to various postpartum injuries.
Age
In young girls, rapid childbirth can begin due to the fact that their body is not yet ready for labor either physically or psychologically. Perhaps that is why he is trying to complete this process as soon as possible. But women who give birth for the first time after thirty years, usually already had any problems in the field of gynecology or other diseases that have an effect on labor.
Mistakes
Some obstetricians make mistakes in prescribing rhodostimulating drugs and as a result, muscle contraction occurs much faster and childbirth becomes quick or fast. And also diseases of various organs of a woman, especially chronic ones, can influence this.
How does the process go?
So which births are considered swift? Let's try to figure this out. This is especially important for those who have started this process at home. According to the first signs, a woman can tell everything by ambulance so that the paramedic can assess the seriousness of the situation.
It is almost impossible to predict the onset of labor with this type of labor, since everything begins very unexpectedly and is rapidly developing. Moreover, if the natural birth can be predicted at the examination by a gynecologist, then here, even on a chair or through an ultrasound, it is impossible to say about the timing of the onset. The interval between contractions is practically absent and the uterus opens in a very short time.
During this, the woman in labor greatly jumps in pressure, she goes into a state of strong excitement, increases motor activity, breathing and pulse rapidly increase. Attempts cannot be compared with natural ones. As soon as after one or two swift attempts, the child is born, and after it comes the last.
But not always rapid fights indicate that the child is about to appear. In some cases, even with severe contractions, the cervix remains completely closed - this is a discoordinated labor. In this case, the woman may even need urgent surgical intervention.
If a woman already has several children, then with a quick birth, a child can be born just a few minutes after she senses the first fight. There are frequent cases when a woman finds herself in such a situation while traveling in transport or walking on the street. Such cases are especially dangerous because there is a high risk of infection of the mother and child. That is why gynecologists recommend going to the hospital in advance to always be under the supervision of doctors or, at least, not to go far from home, always have a mobile phone and an exchange card with you.
Complications
A quick birth can begin and end happily for a mother and baby, however, it is possible that rapid birth will have consequences for the baby and his mother. For example, for a woman, this may result in the detachment of the placenta before the baby is born. Why is this happening? Because the uterine muscles practically do not leave the state of contraction, and also the blood circulation between the placenta and the uterus is severely disturbed, blood vessels are pinched.
In such a situation, a woman in labor needs immediate medical attention, and, as we already know, here the score goes not even for minutes, but for seconds. Lack of timely medical care can result in severe bleeding, which will entail even more serious consequences. Perhaps even more serious developments. When bleeding begins, blood can accumulate between the uterus and the area of the placenta that has exfoliated. Thus, the muscles of the uterus are impregnated with blood, which accumulates in it, and cannot contract. In such cases, it is almost impossible to stop the bleeding. In most cases, such complications result in doctors simply having to remove the uterus. But this is for the mother. But the child with premature detachment of the placenta is threatened by hypoxia, which in translation into a more understandable language means a lack of oxygen.
What are the dangerous rapid births for the baby? For a child, rapid progress through the birth canal may also not end in the best way. After all, when it moves, the head must configure, or rather decrease. At this moment, the bones of the skull seem to fold to fit in the neck, and during rapid childbirth they do not have time to do this in a natural way and they are squeezed. In the best case, deformation of the skull will occur, which in most cases ends with alignment. But it is also possible that hemorrhage inside the skull begins, and this already leads to paresis and paralysis, and in the worst case, to the death of the fetus.
The mother during a rapid advancement may appear various tears not only the cervix, but also the vagina and even the perineum. All this can be sewn up, but the procedure is not the most pleasant, especially for a woman who has already suffered a birth. There are cases of postpartum hemorrhage. This occurs due to the fact that the uterine muscles contract very poorly after this type of birth. As you can see, have a quick and rapid birth effect on the fetus and on the woman in childbirth.
Tactics
Each obstetrician should be prepared for the fact that a woman will enter the ward, whose labor is very rapidly developing, but the cervix has opened only two or three centimeters. However, after only a few hours, the cervix can fully open and under such circumstances, the woman in labor should only be in the supine position. If a quick birth began in a natural way, then the task of specialists is to use drugs that will relax the muscles and slightly slow down the process. But if such a phenomenon was caused by the use of stimulants, then their administration should be stopped immediately.
The task of specialists during the rapid birth is to constantly monitor the baby's heartbeat. Especially for this, a special sensor is attached to the mother’s stomach, which shows all the changes that are happening on the monitor. More modern devices can even determine the frequency of contractions of the uterine muscles. When the baby was born, the mother needs to be examined by a specialist who can determine the presence of damage in the birth canal. If during the examination serious tears or other injuries were found, then the woman in labor is anesthetized and the damaged tissues are restored under complete anesthesia.
Every obstetrician should understand that natural birth in such conditions can harm both the mother and the baby. But, at the same time, it is impossible to predict how difficult the birth will be. That is why there are certain indicators, in the presence of which, the doctor makes a decision on surgery. Among them: the previously mentioned placental abruption at the moment when delivery has not yet been completed, the discovery of bleeding, as well as fetal hypoxia. The latter is determined precisely thanks to that sensor, which counts heartbeats.
Prevention
The precursors of rapid childbirth are practically absent, so it is rather difficult to prevent them. But if a woman is giving birth not for the first time and the first baby was born during a quick birth, then the expectant mother should inform the leading doctor about this and go to the hospital in advance to be supervised by specialists. As well as modern doctors recommend taking special trainings and courses where women are prepared for the appearance of the baby on a psychological level. This is an important factor, which we have already mentioned in the reasons for the development of violent labor. These classes are attended by people who teach mothers methods that can help relax muscles, and also learn to control the tone of the uterus. All this knowledge and skills greatly facilitate the stay in the delivery room.
If a woman is preconfigured for a positive outcome, then the whole process will go without complications. Particular attention should be paid to nutrition. Pregnant women are used to eating whatever they want, but this is not advisable. It is good if the expectant mother enters a special school for pregnant women. Here the girls are introduced to all the physiological processes that occur, prepare emotionally and teach the rules of behavior during labor. Be sure to have a psychologist working in such a school, which can be addressed not only by the expectant mother, but also by dad. Future parents are very emotionally connected and therefore much depends on the mood of a man. After all, who, if not her husband, will be able to calm a pregnant wife. Moreover, recently, more and more often dads are present during childbirth and are trying in every possible way to support their wives.
There are medical methods for the prevention of rapid childbirth. For this purpose, doctors can prescribe various spasmolytics, which are aimed at relaxing the uterine muscles, removing them from their tone. They also come to the aid of drugs that improve blood circulation. But drug treatment can be prescribed only if there are indicators that can be identified on the basis of the tests.
Output
So we found out which births are considered swift and why this happens. Modern obstetricians have all the necessary equipment and medicines to carry out this process with minimal consequences for mom and baby. Of course, rapid births of primiparous women also occur in different ways in women who already have a baby. But if timely assistance is given to the woman in labor, then serious problems can be avoided.