Established labour

Established labour
Labour usually progresses much more quickly once your cervix has dilated to four or five centimetres.

Established labour - When should you go into hospital?
When should you go into hospital?

In established labour
- If you have been practising perineal massage during pregnancy, the stretching sensation you feel during massage can help you to feel familiar with the very intense stretching sensation of your baby's head crowning.

Established labour explained
Video discussion of established labour with midwife Anna Cannon
Signs of false labour explained ...

This is given every 4 hours once you are in established labour.
The antibiotic is given intravenously (through a vein in your arm) but doesn't involve you being connected to a drip.

One of the questions that comes up time and time again on our Childbirth Talk forum is: "Am I in established labour?

Active Management of Labour: A practice which restricts a woman to birthing her baby (by spontaneous vaginal birth, instrumental birth by forceps or ventouse or by Caesarean birth) within 12 hours of the confirmation of established labour.

'Warm water can help women feel relaxed, calm and more in control,' confirms Renee Adair, founder of the Australian Doula College. 'But it can slow labour if you get in too soon - never use the hot tub unless you're in established labour, ...

It's more likely to happen when you're already in established labour. There's a risk of infection if your waters break too soon before labour and the waters could bring the cord down as well, compressing your baby's oxygen supply (this is rare).

See also: Pregnancy, Contractions, Contraction, Due date, Mum