Labor and Delivery Transitioning

I'm sure you've seen all the TV shows where women are lashing out at the hospital staff or their husbands during labor. This part of labor is called "transition" when your cervix opens from 8 to 10 centimeters to fully dilated. Transitions can be a particularly intense part of labor with contractions the strongest and most frequent—two to three minutes apart—of all the stages of labor. You may experience pain and pressure in your lower back and rectum, and possibly chills and a shaky weakness. In fact, you may feel as though you can't stand one more minute of labor and delivery. (Thus all of the yelling and screaming.)

But the good news is, transition is the shortest part of labor. Some women go through transition in several contractions, while others take longer. And when it's over, you'll be fully dilated and ready to finish labor and delivery—ready to be a mother.

Just breathe through it and make whatever sound you want to make. Ask the nurse, midwife or doula to guide you with your breathing until the doctor or midwife instruct you to push. (Pushing too soon can damage the cervix.) Once transitioning is complete, it's time to help push the baby out!