how many centimeters do you have to be dilated for the hospital to keep you?
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Generally speaking, once you are dilated past 5 or 6 centimeters and having regular contractions, most practitioners will be fairly insistent that you remain in the hospital or birth center until your baby is born.
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Your cervix needs to open about 10cm for your baby to pass through it. This is what's called being fully dilated. In a 1st labour, the time from the start of established labour to being fully dilated is usually 8 to 12 hours. It's often quicker (around 5 hours), in a 2nd or 3rd pregnancy.
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Typically, you can receive an epidural as early as when you are 4 to 5 centimeters dilated and in active labor. Normally, it takes about 15 minutes to place the epidural catheter and for the pain to start subsiding and another 20 minutes to go into full effect.
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Now it's time for the real work to begin. During active labor, your cervix will dilate from 6 centimeters (cm) to 10 cm. Your contractions will become stronger, closer together and regular.
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During active labor, your cervix will dilate from 6 centimeters (cm) to 10 cm.
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It begins when your cervix starts to open (dilate) and ends when it is completely open (fully dilated) at 10 centimeters. When the cervix dilates from 0 to 3 or 4 centimeters, contractions get stronger as time progresses. Mild contractions begin at 15 to 20 minutes apart and last 60 to 90 seconds.
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Active labor It starts when your contractions are regular and your cervix has dilated to 6 centimeters. In active labor: Your contractions get stronger, longer and more painful. Each lasts about 45 seconds and they can be as close as 3 minutes apart.
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The process of the cervix opening (dilating) is one way that healthcare staff track how a woman's labor is progressing. During labor, the cervix opens to accommodate the passage of baby's head into the vagina, which is around 10 centimeters (cm) dilated for most term babies.
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In general, once the active stage of labor kicks in, it's a safe bet to expect a steady cervical dilation every hour. Many women don't start really dilating more regularly until closer to around 6 cm. The first stage of labor ends when a woman's cervix is fully dilated to 10 cm and fully effaced (thinned out).
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In the case of a vaginal or natural birth, hospital stay for the mother and baby will usually last for a maximum of 24 to 48 hours. This would require the labour to be smooth, with no complications arising at any stage.
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If you're a first-time mum, active labour may take about eight hours. This is an average, though, and it could be much shorter or longer than that. It's unlikely to last more than 18 hours. Once your cervix has dilated to 10cm, it could take you an hour or two hours of pushing before your baby is born.
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Established labour is when your cervix has dilated to more than 3cm and regular contractions are opening the cervix. Your cervix needs to open about 10cm for your baby to pass through. This is what's called being fully dilated, and means that you've moved into the second stage of labour.
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Early labor will last approximately 8-12 hours. Your cervix will efface and dilate to 4 cm. Contractions will last about 30-45 seconds, giving you 5-30 minutes of rest between contractions.
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The second stage of labor begins when your cervix is fully dilated at 10 centimeters. This stage continues until your baby passes through the birth canal, vagina, and is born. This stage may last two hours or longer.
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But in fact, dilation is NOT a Magic 8 Ball. Some women begin dilating at 36 weeks and go to 41 weeks before they finally go into labor at 7 centimeters. Some women are checked with a routine cervical exam and found to be just "a finger tip dilated," then go into full blown, active labor 24 hours later.
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Once you begin active labor, you'll have strong contractions around a minute long and 3-5 minutes apart. It may be hard to talk or move easily. At this point, your cervix will be dilated 3-10 centimeters.
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You generally start dilating in the ninth month of pregnancy as your due date gets closer. The timing is different in every woman. For some, dilation and effacement is a gradual process that can take weeks or even up to a month. Others can dilate and efface overnight.