Labor: how long until delivery? At what point am I?

1. Voice

During the prodromes and the first contractions you talk, chat, joke and manage to answer without difficulty the questions that the midwife or doctor asks you.

In the later stages of labour, you will gradually begin to feel the need to rest and close your eyes, you will hear more distant voices, you will be in a world of your own and more than words,  you will use your eyes to seek support from those close to you .

It is important that the people around you, including hospital workers, respect this silence .

Finally in the expulsion phase there will be a new change, from moaning, singing, silence, you will pass to deep guttural sounds.

2. Smell

It’s difficult for a couple to perceive this perfume, if the midwife doesn’t bring their attention to this aspect, but you’ll see: you’ll smell strong. Because many don’t know it, but birth smells like freshly cut hay on a rainy day .

3. Phrases that make little sense

This signal is probably the funniest for dads-to-be because as soon as their partner says something irrational, they’re quick to point it out with a smile. You relax, it means you are near the end.

It’s not uncommon to hear mom say she wants to go home to get some sleep, that she wants to postpone.

Sometimes a mom says she wants to go home, that she’s done and maybe come back later, wants to get dressed and leave, or asks for a C-section despite everything going well.

If it’s tiredness that leads you to say these things,  try to rest between one contraction and another , perhaps by getting into the tub or remaining in bed, lying on your left side and with a pillow between your legs.

Regain energy , which will be essential for the last stage of labour.

4. Use your fingers

Here is a very simple but very useful trick. During pregnancy,  be taught to understand what the fundus of your uterus (the part at the top of your belly) is and to understand its shape.

During labor the uterus undergoes changes, especially at the level of the neck which thins, centralizes and dilates.

At the onset of labor  try measuring the distance between your fundus and your bra line with your fingers . At first it will be 5 fingers. As the thickness of the fundus begins to increase, the number of fingers you can fit between the top of your belly and the bra line will become fewer and fewer. 

When the fingers become 3, it is usually the right time to go to the hospital because the dilatation should have reached 5 cm. When you can only pass one finger, you are fully dilated.  Incredible, right?

5. Tell partner to watch

Watch what? The  furrow of the buttocks . Initially it has a length of 1 cm, during dilation it lengthens and reaches 10 cm : its length is correlated with the dilatation of the uterus neck.

6. Mucus discharge mixed with blood threads

Usually, vaginal discharge is abundant for almost the entire pregnancy: it is the so-called leucorrhoea. Near the end, the loss of mucus plus any bright red streaks corresponds to the so-called expulsion of the mucus plug . In labor,  these mucous losses mixed with blood can indicate that the neck of the uterus is changing  and therefore, if contractions occur, there is a dilation of 2-3 cm.

Often, however, they are difficult to notice, because vaginal mucus increases markedly in the days leading up to labor. The discharge is usually quite heavy, may be clear or streaked with dark or red blood.

If there is more blood than a couple of spoonfuls, it is helpful to check at the nearest obstetric emergency room to make sure everything is going well .

7. Small sketch on the back

It’s the spot a woman in labor usually wants to massage: the area above her tailbone . It’s triangular in shape and sticks out when it’s time to start pushing .

Dilation of 1 or 2 cm: how long until delivery?

Cervical dilation can only give very approximate information on how far away from delivery, because the timing of labor varies from woman to woman.

The speed of dilatation in fact depends on various factors, such as the effectiveness and regularity of the contractions or the mother’s state of mind (which in turn is influenced by the environment and the people around her).

In general, however, we can say that a dilatation from 1 cm to 3 cm is still referred to as a prodromal period and not as true labour. This phase can last weeks, days or hours before delivery.

Dilation of 3, 4 or 5 cm: how long before delivery?

A 3-4 cm dilatation marks the onset of active labor . At this point, if it is the first child, about 7-8 hours pass on average before the expulsion phase begins .

In all, we can consider about 10 hours, including delivery and afterbirth of the placenta (which generally occurs about 20 minutes after the birth of the baby), although exceptions are frequent and linked to various factors.

In the second pregnancy or later, it is not uncommon to see faster deliveries .

Recommended reading

The joy of childbirth. Secrets and virtues of the female body during labor and birth – by Ina M. Gaskin