When it comes to the happiest moments in the life of a family, the birth of a new child is close to the top of the list. Often, parents are asked whether they would like to have a boy or a girl. In reality, most parents just want to have a child who is healthy. Sadly, this isn’t always the case. Sometimes, children can be born with birth injuries are birth defects.
According to Lalande Personal Injury Lawyers:
“All too often, babies are born with problems that don’t match their parents’ wonderful expectations. Sometimes it’s because the baby is born with an undiagnosed birth defect, and sometimes the baby is actually victim of a birth injury that occurs during labor and delivery which could have been preventable. ”
One of the factors that might play a role in the development of birth injuries or illnesses is how long the delivery process itself takes. Therefore, many people are wondering, how long does the birthing process take from start to finish?
The Average Amount of Time
Unfortunately, it is hard to pinpoint exactly how long the labor process is going to take. On average, labor is going to take between 4 and 8 hours. Of note, this is only the active labor process. The active labor process is from when the cervix has dilated to six centimeters until the baby is born. The cervix may actually start dilating more than a day before the baby actually passes through the birth canal. Therefore, it can be difficult to figure out exactly how long the birthing process is going to last.
The Process Goes Faster for Subsequent Children
One of the major factors that is going to play a role in the birthing process is how many children the mother has given birth to prior to the current pregnancy. In general, with each child, the birthing process is going to progress more quickly. This means that a mother who is giving birth to her first child is going to be in labor for a longer period of time than a mother who is giving birth to her second or third child.
There are also situations where a doctor might be able to make the birthing process go more quickly. For example, when the head of an unborn child makes contact with the cervix, this is going to cause it to dilate more. In some cases, the doctor might artificially rupture the membranes of the pregnancy sac, allowing the baby to fall down toward the cervix, causing it to dilate more quickly.
After the Baby Has Been Born
Once the baby has been born, all attention is immediately going to turn to the health of the mother and newborn child. The OBGYN team is going to take care of her mother and the Pediatric team is going to take care of the baby, making sure that both mom and child are healthy. This is one of the most important steps in the process, ensuring that there is one big happy family.