What are the signs of labor? How to relieve pain during labor?

Many expectant mothers are very nervous before giving birth. In fact, as long as they are fully prepared, they will feel more at ease. Let's first learn some knowledge before giving birth~ I hope every mother can be well prepared and give birth smoothly.

What are the signs before giving birth?

Prenatal signs of pregnancy: 1. Uterine contractions: Uterine contractions are irregular and weak at first, then gradually become regular, increasingly stronger, last longer, and have shorter intervals. If the interval is 5 to 10 minutes and lasts 20 seconds, you must go to the hospital to see a doctor.

Prenatal signs of pregnancy 2. Broken water (sudden vaginal discharge): The amniotic membrane ruptures and the amniotic fluid flows out of the vagina. The amniotic fluid is a colorless liquid that cannot be controlled even if you hold your urine.

The third prenatal sign for pregnant women is spotting: When the cervix slowly opens, a small amount of bloody mucus will be discharged from the vagina.

In addition, if the pregnancy exceeds 40 weeks and the baby has not been born, you can go to the hospital for fetal heart monitoring. If the baby has not been born 5 to 7 days after the due date, you must go to the hospital for examination, as the placenta may have aged.

If there are signs of labor, you should go to the hospital in time and wait for delivery. In medicine, the presence of labor signs does not mean that labor has officially begun. There is still a process and a period of time. The situation of each person is different, and the time to enter labor varies.

The main signs of labor:

★Regular uterine contractions occur at intervals of 5 to 6 minutes and last for 20 to 30 seconds with a certain intensity. Pregnant women feel intermittent abdominal pain, and the uterus becomes tight and hard, which gradually worsens and becomes more frequent.

★The fetal head gradually descends.

★The cervix gradually opens, indicating that labor has begun.

What to prepare before giving birth

All expectant mothers are the same. As the due date approaches, the little one in the belly is finally coming out, and they are inevitably both happy and nervous. They can't wait to prepare a lot of things for the baby, just according to their own assumptions, which inevitably leads to incompleteness or waste. Here are a few tips, all of which are advice from experience, and I hope they can be useful to expectant mothers.

About the preparation of baby products

1. Clothing: Clothes (prepare according to the season), hats, gloves, underwear, swaddles, bibs, etc. These underwear should be made of soft, absorbent, light-colored cotton fabrics that will not hurt the baby's tender skin. It is better to wear a one-piece suit to protect the belly from getting cold.

2. Feeding supplies: Breastfeeding mothers should prepare a breast pump. 4 to 6 milk bottles. Glass is safe and non-toxic, and plastic is light. It is recommended to buy PP (polypropylene) milk bottles, which are light, safe and non-toxic. 4 to 6 pacifiers (silicone, latex). Newborns should use size S, and it is recommended to change them every 3 months. 1 milk bottle brush. 1 milk powder box, which is a must-have for easy packaging when going out. Bottle sterilizers and milk warmers can be purchased as needed.

3. Urinary prevention products: diapers are a must. Ultra-thin diapers are recommended for newborns, with a daily dosage of 6 to 8 pieces. Of course, you can also prepare multiple cloth diapers and gauze diapers (breathable, comfortable, and leak-proof) as spares and use them in place of diapers to prevent diaper rash. Baby wipes, diaper cream, and diaper pads should also be prepared in advance to prevent the baby from getting wet and make the little butt more comfortable.

4. The crib should be prepared in advance and placed in a ventilated place to blow away the paint smell. Also, when purchasing, the height of the crib fence should be higher and the fence spacing should be closer to prevent the baby from climbing over and falling or getting his head stuck by the fence. Strollers and toys can be prepared slowly after the baby is discharged from the hospital. After all, some of them will only be used when the baby grows up.

5. Bathing supplies: 1 baby bathtub, 1 bath bed or bath net (hang it in the bathtub, convenient for mother to bathe the baby), 1 bottle of baby bath gel, 1 bottle of shampoo, 1 bottle of baby lotion or baby oil (to be used after bathing and during massage). 1 can of baby talcum powder, 1 bath thermometer. 2 small washbasins (for the baby to wash his face and hands occasionally and after defecation). 2 to 4 small towels, 2 large bath towels, you can choose pure cotton or gauze towels. 1 box of cotton swabs, 1 bottle of iodine (to disinfect the navel of the newborn after bathing).

About the preparation of supplies for expectant mothers

1. Delivery bag: supplies that need to be taken to the hospital. This includes the documents required for admission, such as birth permit, medical insurance card, perinatal health card, and ID cards of both spouses, as well as maternity sanitary napkins, breast pumps, belly shaping belts, elbow straws and other maternity supplies, and baby supplies such as diapers, milk powder, wet wipes, gauze towels, and diaper cream.

2. Camera and DV: These are must-haves. The first photo of the baby after birth is so precious! You can also use DV to record every detail before and after the birth, make it into a behind-the-scenes video, and show it to your child later. It will help him understand the hard work of his mother and know how he came into the world. It must be very interesting.

3. Preparation for confinement: Whether the confinement can be done well affects the rest of a woman's life. If neglected, she may develop a disease in the future. One or two months before delivery, you should master the knowledge of confinement in advance and arrange for people to help with confinement. If conditions permit, you can hire a professional confinement nanny to avoid the elderly being too busy to take care of both the child and the adult. When it comes to food during confinement, the elderly are even more afraid of trouble. Many confinement nannies are not good at cooking, so they simply customize the professional confinement meals that are delivered, which is convenient and nutritious. For example, Guanghetang confinement meals, which can be eaten on the first day after delivery, save worry and effort, and also ensure health and nutrition, which is conducive to breastfeeding and rapid recovery of body shape after delivery.

How to relieve pain during childbirth

Tip 1: Listen to music to relax

Studies have long found that music can relieve the tension of mothers during childbirth and reduce the pain of uterine contractions. Through recording the childbirth of expectant mothers, it was found that the tension and pain of mothers who listened to music were significantly reduced. Studies have also found that letting mothers listen to music and do music therapy is also beneficial to postpartum recovery and helps improve the relationship between mothers and new babies.

Music therapy is more effective before childbirth. Early training will help expectant mothers pick out their favorite, most familiar, and most pleasant music during labor, which will have the best analgesic effect.

Tip 2: Do something else to distract yourself

Distract your attention: When contractions become more frequent, expectant mothers may wish to imagine the beautiful scene when the baby is born, or read a newspaper, watch TV, take a walk, chat, and try not to think about the word "pain".

Encouragement from the expectant father: When his wife begins to have contractions, the expectant father should remind her to do even abdominal breathing, and say some encouraging and comforting words at any time, so as not to let his wife feel isolated and helpless.

Supplementary food: During the intervals between contractions, expectant mothers should try to eat some easily digestible foods, such as milk, chocolate, eggs, noodle soup, etc., to maintain sufficient physical strength and energy.

Tip 3: Try to relax your body during contractions

It is normal for expectant mothers to have tense abdominal muscles during contractions. At this time, the rest of the body should be relaxed as much as possible. When the expectant mother is sitting or lying down, her body needs some support, such as a pillow or backrest. The expectant father should make sure that his wife's elbows, legs, lower back, and neck are supported and feel comfortable. The expectant father should also check whether all parts of his wife's body are completely relaxed.

If your wife is feeling nervous due to the pain, the expectant father can take deep breaths with her.

Tip 4: Birthing ball exercises can relieve pelvic floor pain

When the expectant mother is experiencing labor pains, she should not lie in bed all the time. She can get up and walk around, or try doing the birthing ball exercise, which is to sit on a fitness ball. As the ball swings back and forth, the support on the pelvic floor can help relieve pelvic floor pain.

Sitting: Spread your legs apart and step firmly. The expectant mother sits on the ball. Place a chair in front of the ball, hold the back of the chair with both hands, and move your hips left and right.

Prone position: Place a soft cushion on the ground, and the expectant mother kneels on the cushion, relaxes her arms, lies on the ball, and slowly rocks left to right.

There is no limit to the number of times you can do the birthing ball exercise. As long as the expectant mother feels comfortable, she can continue doing it.

The fifth trick: Massage pain relief for expectant fathers

The expectant father or family member can give the expectant mother a massage to relieve her tension and pain during labor.

Step 1: The expectant mother lies diagonally on the bed or mat, and the caregiver gently massages the lower back of the expectant mother.

Step 2: Place a few soft cushions on the bed or floor, and the expectant mother kneels on the cushions. Family members stand on one side of the bed and constantly caress the mother's back with both hands to relieve the back pain caused by labor pain.

Step 3: Find a comfortable and soft chair or sofa, and the expectant mother sits facing inward with her chest and abdomen resting on the back of the chair or sofa with soft cushions, and her head resting on it in a relaxed manner: the caregiver constantly presses the mother's waist with his hands.

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