STEVEN HOCKSTEIN, MD: A woman’s due date is 40 weeks after her
last menstrual period – 280 days. And that is about the time most
women deliver plus or minus a couple of weeks.
MICHELLE LAMOTHE, MD: Okay. So you have a window there of
about a couple of weeks. Dr. Moore, what are the signs and stages
of labor?
ADRIANNE MOORE, MD: Well, the signs of labor are rhythmic contractions,
generally about five minutes apart, and lasting for a full minute.
MICHELLE LAMOTHE, MD: And there are how many different stages
to labor?
ADRIANNE MOORE, MD: There are three stages of labor. There’s
– in the first stage is – are both early labor and the active phase of
labor. In the second stage of labor, which is probably the hardest,
the most physically challenging, is the stage in which a woman is pushing
after the cervix is completely open. And the third stage of labor
is simply the delivery of the placenta.
MICHELLE LAMOTHE, MD: Can you talk a little bit about, Dr. Hockstein,
about the beginning of contractions and how the cervix or the neck of the
vagina begins to open to allow the baby to pass through?
STEVEN HOCKSTEIN, MD: Well, it’s very common – throughout the
latter part of pregnancy a woman has contractions. They come, they
go. They are generally mild, and they’re not regular in their pattern.
