About the disease
Childbirth is always unique experience for both a woman and a doctor. It can pass by quickly or it can be lengthy. Such factors as genetic predisposition of a woman, her health and health of her baby, quality of medical assistance play vital role in the efficiency and safety of childbirth.
Overall, there are two main types of childbirth: vaginal and cesarean delivery. Vaginal delivery is the most common and traditional type of childbirth. During vaginal delivery doctor helps the baby to come safely through the birth canal without any traumas or future complications. In certain circumstances, a doctor may use special device to cup the head of a baby and make delivery easier for a woman. Such device is most often used if a woman has prolonged childbirth. It can happen if contractions are too weak or if the birth canal is too narrow.
Cesarean delivery is performed through the incision on the lower abdomen. In contrast to the vaginal delivery, which can last five to twenty hours, cesarean delivery usually lasts 45 minutes to one hour. This type of delivery is indicated if there is risk for the health of baby or a mother. Cesarean delivery can be indicated in such cases:
- A woman is having twins
- A baby is too big for woman`s uterus
- Prolonged labor, which lasts longer than 16 hours
- Problems with placenta
- Unconventional position of a baby in the birth canal
- Baby is in distress
Symptoms
- Pain in the lower back
- Water breaks
- White discharges
- Pressing need to urinate
- Diarrhea (sometimes)
- Contractions
Diagnosis
- Pregnancy can be detected 7-10 days after insemination. A simple pregnancy test is usually efficient in determining whether a woman is pregnant.
- The main indicator that a childbirth began is the moment when water breaks and contractions begin. Pain in the lower back and dilation of the vagina are also main indicators that this is time for delivery.
- During a childbirth doctor will monitor the heartbeat of a mother and a baby to ensure that everything is allright.
Treatment
- Natural childbirth lasts on average 10-14 hours. A doctor may use special analgesics and anesthetics in order to alleviate the pain and make delivery less traumatic. Usually these drugs are safe to take and a woman rarely experiences any side effects. If the childbirth is prolonged, doctor may also use Pitocin or other similar medications, which speed up the delivery by making contractions stronger. Labor induction can be used before the childbirth if delivery did not start 1-2 weeks after the due date.
- Childbirth by cesarean section is also a safe option, which is used mostly for medical reasons. According to the American medical site WebMD, cesarean section nowadays is used in 1 out of 3 deliveries. After cesarean section a woman needs to stay at hospital for 5-7 days in order to fully recover after the incision.
Authors: Dr. Vadim Zhiliuk, Dr. Sergey Pashchenko
