Going through the birth of your child is a wonderful and unique experience. No two deliveries are alike and there is no way to tell how your delivery is going to be. What we can tell you is the stages you will go through during the birthing process and what you can generally expect.

What to do During Your Early Birthing Time? In the beginning, you could feel excitement, doubt or extreme readiness.

QUESTION

Dear Midwife,
Hi, I will be 40 wks pregnant tomorrow...I started getting labor pains 2 days ago and went to the hospital last night. They told me i was two centimeters dilated and i could go rest at home if I wanted, so I did since I could still handle the pains.

Throughout the night the pains slowed down and by morning had stopped and then my mucus plug came out. I found this strange, I still have no pains...is this normal??? This is my second pregnancy.

More progress, ladies! I started losing my mucus plug last night! And this morning, I lost more of it along with some bloody show! I know this doesn't necessarily mean anything yet as far as labor, but I am so excited that my body's getting the show on the road!

QUESTION

Dear Midwife,
I am in my 38th week of pregnancy and have been having contractions for about three or four weeks now. The baby has dropped into my pelvic area and the docter said that I am fully effaced and dialated to 3. But it hasn't changed over the weeks and the docter won't do anything about it, he just keeps sending me home.

I have tried walking, intercoarse, and so on and still nothing. my plug has aleready gone, but no water breaking, and the pains get so bad that I am in bed constantly.

I'm not sure of what else to do... All this work for weeks and no show!