Fear and anxiety are all natural emotional reactions to childbirth - especially if you're a first-time mom, when everything seems unknown. Yes, childbirth comes with pain, but at the end of the day, you'll be rewarded with a beautiful baby. To prevent negative emotions from hampering your birth experience and to dispel all the horrible myths, it's vital that you learn all you can about the birth process so you can mentally prepare for a positive birth experience.

• Overview: Stages of Labour
• First Stage: Early Labour
• First Stage: Active Labour
• First Stage: Transition
• Second Stage: Pushing
• Third Stage: Placenta Delivery

Overview: Stages of Labour

On average, labour lasts between twelve and fourteen hours. The actual labouring time varies for different women and also depends on other factors such as the position of the baby within the womb, so it's difficult to pinpoint exactly how long yours will take.

The bulk of labouring time is spent in the first stage of labour, which begins with the onset of contractions that are coming at relatively regular intervals and marks the gradual effacement (thinning out) and dilation (opening) of the cervix. This first stage itself is broken down into 3 phases: early (latent) labour, active labour and transition (descent) labour.

The second stage is the pushing stage - the actual delivery of the baby - that usually takes anywhere from a few minutes to several hours. The final stage is the delivery of the placenta - typically takes minutes to half an hour.

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