Emily Santi · Birth Photographer · Videographer · Certified Birth & Postpartum Doula
Your guide to labor and birth
A friendly place to learn what may happen, think through your options, and make a plan that feels like yours. Birth can be beautiful, intense, surprising, ordinary, or several of those things at once. Information gives you more room to make decisions as your day moves along.
Before labor
Prepare in a way that helps you feel ready
You do not have to memorize everything. Choose the pieces that make you feel more informed and supported, then bring your questions to your care team.
Learn the basics
Read about labor, the stages of birth, comfort measures, common procedures, feeding, and the first hours with your baby.
Practice support
Talk with your partner, support person, doula, midwife, or provider about what helps you feel safe, heard, and cared for.
Ask what is available
Find out what your hospital or birth center provides, what you need to bring, and how they handle movement, food, monitoring, newborn care, and visitors. Ask about local feeding support, parent groups, community drop-ins, and practical resources too.
My preparation checklist
Practical prep
Pack your bag without packing your whole house
Every hospital and birth center is different. Use this as a starting point, then ask what is already provided where you plan to give birth.
For you
For baby
For your partner or support person
The big picture
What is labor?
Labor is the process of your uterus contracting, your cervix changing, and your baby moving through the pelvis and birth canal. It is normal for labor to look different from one birth to the next.
Effacement
Your cervix softens and becomes thinner. This is measured as a percentage, from 0% to 100% effaced.
Dilation
Your cervix opens from closed to about 10 centimeters. At 10 centimeters, your body may begin the pushing stage.
Noticing changes
Signs labor may be starting
Some signs happen hours or days before active labor. Some people notice only one sign, and some notice several. If you are less than 37 weeks and think labor may be starting, contact your provider or seek urgent assessment according to their instructions.
Lightening
Your baby may move lower in the pelvis. You may breathe more easily, have less heartburn, or need to urinate more often. With a first baby, this may happen weeks before labor; with later births, it may happen closer to labor.
Mucus plug or bloody show
As the cervix changes, you may notice thick mucus or pink, red, or brown discharge. You may also notice nothing. Tell your provider about bleeding or discharge that concerns you.
Water breaking
Your water may release as a gush or a slow leak before labor, during labor, or close to birth. If you are unsure whether the fluid is urine or amniotic fluid, call your provider. Note the time, amount, color, and odor. Use a pad or towel, and do not place a tampon in the vagina.
Contractions
Practice contractions may be irregular and may ease with rest, hydration, or a change in activity. Labor contractions tend to become longer, stronger, and closer together, though the pattern is different for every person.
Practice contractions and labor contractions
| May be prelabor or practice | More consistent with labor |
|---|---|
| Do not steadily get stronger | Become stronger over time |
| Remain irregular | Become more regular and closer together |
| May ease with rest, hydration, or a position change | Continue even when you walk or change position |
| May be felt mostly in the front | May begin in the back and move forward, or be felt in the front |
A practical tool
Timing contractions
When contractions are becoming stronger or closer together, time at least three in a row. Duration is the length of one contraction. Frequency is measured from the start of one contraction to the start of the next.
This record stays in your browser until you clear it. It is a tracking aid, not medical advice.
| Start | End | Duration | Frequency from prior start |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your contraction record will appear here. | |||
Knowing when to reach out
When should you call or go?
Your provider may give you a specific plan based on your health, pregnancy, distance from your birth location, and whether this is your first birth. Keep their number easy to find and call when you are unsure.
Call promptly about
- Vaginal bleeding that concerns you.
- Fluid that may be your water breaking.
- Contractions or symptoms your provider told you to report.
- Decreased fetal movement or another change that worries you.
Ask about your timing plan
Many people are told to call when contractions are regular, about five minutes apart, lasting about a minute, and continuing for about an hour. Your provider may recommend calling earlier, especially for a later birth, a high-risk pregnancy, or a long distance to travel.
If your water breaks
Write down the time, amount, color, and odor. Call your provider or birth location for next steps. Follow their instructions about eating, bathing, activity, and when to come in.
The sequence
The four stages of labor and birth
First stage: early, active, and transition
Contractions help the cervix efface and dilate to 10 centimeters. They generally become stronger, longer, and closer together, but the pace can vary widely.
Second stage: pushing and birth
After the cervix is fully dilated, your baby moves through the birth canal. You may feel an urge to push, or your care team may help you decide how to push based on your body and baby.
Third stage: placenta
After your baby is born, the uterus continues to contract and the placenta separates and is delivered. Your provider checks the placenta and your bleeding.
Fourth stage: recovery
The first hours after birth are a time to monitor you and your baby, support feeding, and settle into skin-to-skin contact when possible.
Ways to cope
Comfort tools for labor
Comfort is not one-size-fits-all. Try, change, and combine tools as labor changes. Your support person can help protect your space and remind you to drink, breathe, move, and rest.
Breathing
Try slow, rhythmic breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth. Some people prefer lighter breathing as contractions peak. Practice before labor so the pattern feels familiar.
Touch and pressure
Massage, hip squeezes, counterpressure, heat, or a cool cloth may help. Tell your support person what feels good and what does not.
Focus
Choose a point to look at, a phrase to repeat, music, a visualization, prayer, or another anchor that helps you stay with one contraction at a time.
Movement
Walk, sway, change positions, use a birth ball, lean over a surface, or rest on your side as appropriate for your care plan.
Hydration and nourishment
Ask what you may drink or eat. Water, ice chips, electrolyte drinks, or small amounts of food may be options depending on your situation and care plan.
Rest and bathroom breaks
Rest between contractions when you can. Ask for help using the bathroom regularly, often about once an hour if that is comfortable and appropriate for you.
Pain medication and epidural questions
Ask your provider about the benefits, risks, timing, alternatives, and effects on you and your baby for any medication. IV medications and epidural anesthesia are different options with different considerations. You can ask questions and change your mind as your labor changes.
Keep options open
Positions and movement
Changing positions can help with comfort, movement through the pelvis, and feeling more involved in your birth. Your care team can help you adapt positions if you have an epidural, monitoring, IV, or another medical need.
Informed choices
Common procedures and interventions
Procedures may be recommended for many reasons, including your health, your baby’s well-being, or how labor is progressing. Before a non-emergency procedure, ask what is happening, why it is being recommended, what the benefits and risks are, and what alternatives exist.
Induction and augmentation
Induction starts labor with medication or other methods. It may be recommended when continuing the pregnancy presents a concern or when there is another medical reason. Augmentation helps labor that has started but is not progressing as expected, often with breaking the water and/or oxytocin.
Fetal monitoring
A Doppler or electronic monitor may be used to check your baby’s heart rate and your contractions. Ask what type of monitoring is recommended and whether you may move, change positions, or use wireless monitoring.
Episiotomy
An episiotomy is a small cut in the tissue between the vagina and anus. It is not routine for every birth. If one is recommended, ask why, what the alternatives are, and how it will be repaired.
Forceps or vacuum assistance
These tools may be recommended when your baby needs to be born more quickly, the position makes birth difficult, or you are too tired or unable to keep pushing effectively. Your provider should explain the reason, benefits, risks, and alternatives.
Cesarean birth
A cesarean birth is surgery through the abdomen and uterus. It may be planned or recommended during labor for many reasons, including concerns about you or your baby, placenta or cord issues, baby position, or labor that is not progressing. Ask your care team to explain what is happening and how your support person and baby can be included.
The first hours
After birth: skin-to-skin, newborn care, and recovery
Skin-to-skin and the first hour
When you and your baby are stable, ask for immediate, uninterrupted skin-to-skin contact. Baby can be dried and placed on your bare chest or abdomen, covered with a warm blanket, and supported while you get to know each other. Many families hope for one to two hours or until after the first feeding, when possible.
Skin-to-skin can support warmth, breathing, blood sugar regulation, bonding, and feeding. If you cannot do it right away, your partner or another support person may be able to provide skin-to-skin.
Newborn checks and medications
Your baby may receive an initial exam and an Apgar score. Common newborn care discussions include vitamin K, antibiotic eye ointment, newborn metabolic screening with a heel stick, hearing screening, and immunizations such as hepatitis B. Ask what is recommended where you are giving birth, when it will happen, and whether it can wait until after skin-to-skin if your baby is stable.
Your recovery
Your provider will check your bleeding, uterus, placenta, and any tear or repair. After a cesarean birth, your incision and recovery will also be monitored. Ask for help with pain relief, bathroom trips, hydration, feeding, and rest.
Feeding and early support
If you plan to breastfeed or chestfeed, ask for help with positioning and a first latch. If you plan to formula feed, combination feed, pump, or are undecided, you deserve support and clear information. Your feeding plan can be personal and can change.
Questions to ask before your birth
Make it easy to reach the right person
My people and important contacts
Fill these in before labor so your support person can find them quickly. The fields save only in this browser. They are not sent to Emily or stored on this website.
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More learning
For an evidence-informed overview of healthy birth practices, visit Lamaze Healthy Birth Practices. Bring anything you read to your care team and ask how it applies to you.