Giving Birth

Your pregnancy is as individual as you are and there are a variety of ways you may experience the beginning of labour and birth. You may find it helpful to consider the things that will help you cope while at home and discuss these with your midwife using your personalised care plan. These plans can be downloaded here: My maternity journey - a personal care plan. If you are unable to download this, please ask your midwife to print a copy for you.

Labour is a physiological process, which can often take a long time. Remember, every labour is different, however, every labour has three stages:

• The first stage, when the neck of the womb (cervix) opens to 10 centimetres.
• The second stage, when the baby moves down through the vagina and is born.
• The third stage, when the afterbirth (placenta) is delivered.

The latent phase is the early part of the first stage of labour and you may experience contractions, however, they are often irregular in occurrence, short lasting and milder in strength than those when you are in the active phase of your labour. The active phase is when your labour has become established. This means that the contractions are stronger and regular and lasting longer than previously. Both the latent and active phases take place during the first stage. Eventually, at the end of the first stage, the neck of the womb has opened up to 10cms and is described as being ‘fully dilated. 

Signs of labour beginning:

The ‘show’ - As the neck of the womb begins to soften and open, the mucus which has been protecting the entrance to your womb comes away. This is called the ‘show’. It is has a jelly-like appearance and can often be streaked with blood, either bright red, pink or brown. It may also be clear. This is all normal. Having a ‘show’ means that your body is starting to get ready for labour – but the actual birth of your baby is very likely to be some time away. Some women have a ‘show’ several days before the labour starts. Some women have several ‘shows’.

Before active labour starts, your waters may break. During pregnancy, your baby is surrounded by amniotic fluid – the ‘waters’. For some women (about 1 in 10), the first sign that labour is going to start is that the waters begin to leak.  If the ‘waters’ break and labour has not yet begun, this is still normal. The majority of women (about 60%) will go into labour within 24 hours of their ‘waters’ breaking. However, during this time you will need to be assessed by a midwife.  It is not, however, essential for your waters to break for you to go into labour.

If you would like more information on what to expect during labour, including what you and your birth partner can do to help you get through this stage of your pregnancy, please download and read our information booklet on The Latent Phase of Labour

You may also call us at any time but we particularly recommend getting in touch if:

• You think your labour has started and it is establishing into regular and powerful contractions occurring every 2–3 minutes
• Your waters have released
• You have any vaginal bleeding (bright/fresh red blood)
• You are worried your baby is not moving as much as normal
• You have any other concerns or anxieties

You can call your own midwife or you may prefer to call our team of midwives on the maternity advice line, which is open 24 hours a day, every day of the year, on 0115 9709777

If you have complications:

We now have a new maternity Triage Service, where you can be seen within 15 minutes, depending on your clinical needs.  Since opening in April, over 90% of women have been seen within 15 minutes.  Information on our Triage Service is available here.