How Your Body Changes from Conception to Birth
Our incredible human body is such a miraculous, efficient vessel and never is this more evident than in the process of birth! I have had the privilege of welcoming two new granddaughters into our family. My daughter and my daughter-in-law both had perfect labors – although both were very different. The first labor lasted 14 hours after checking into the birthing center – the second labor lasted 10 minutes after checking into the hospital. Both daughters chose to have completely natural labors without any type of medication. How could both be perfect and so different? What is it that triggers labor and what is happening in our body during this process?
How Your Baby Is Brought to Life
A woman is usually born with two ovaries containing all of the eggs she will ever have. A man is born with the ability to produce new sperm on a daily basis after reaching puberty. When these two (egg and sperm) unite, a new life begins. This process begins when an egg becomes mature which forms a corpus luteum cyst on the ovary. When the cyst ruptures and releases the egg, it also releases a hormone that helps thicken the lining of the uterus preparing it for implantation. Once released, it begins its journey down the fallopian tube. When the egg unites with the sperm it becomes known as a zygote which is now considered to be a complete cell containing 23 chromosomes from the egg and 23 chromosomes from the sperm.
The zygote continues its journey down the fallopian tube and within 24 hours begins to divide and multiply. After a few days of cell division, it becomes known as a blastocyst, reaching the uterus around day 5 and implanting itself into the uterine wall on about day 6. During the process of implantation, the blastocyst is actively secreting the pregnancy hormone known as hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin). This hormone is what keeps you from menstruating and expelling the embryo from the uterus. In this early stage, the embryo will develop a yolk sac which provides its first nutrients. Tiny villi, or fingers of tissue, on the outside of the embryo multiply in these early weeks. They go on to make connections with the capillaries in the uterine lining which supply nutrients and remove waste. Over time this mass of cells will become the placenta, which will nourish and protect your baby throughout your pregnancy. By four weeks the embryo is made up of three distinct layers. The inner layer will gradually develop in the lungs, liver and digestive system. The middle layer will become the baby’s bones, muscles, kidneys, heart and sex organs. The outer layer will develop into the skin, hair, eyes and nervous system. By twelve weeks the body has completely formed and by twenty-four weeks the baby’s organs are completely formed. From this point on, your baby will grow, put on weight and prepare to live outside of the womb.
Growing Your Baby
During pregnancy you will notice a lot of changes taking place. Along with the obvious physical changes of a growing belly and breasts – you could notice several other changes in how you are feeling. It is common to feel more tired during pregnancy – often needing to take a nap during the day. You may experience “morning sickness” which can actually come any time during the day and often affects some women more in the evening than it does in the morning. You may notice the need to urinate more often or feelings of light-headedness, heartburn, constipation, visible veins, skin changes, vaginal changes and emotional symptoms. Each pregnancy is unique which means the same woman may experience different symptoms with different pregnancies. The most important thing to remember is that all of these changes are natural and normal – it is also important to remember that they are temporary. This will be extremely important when dealing with something as unpleasant as morning sickness.
As you are going through this incredible time in your life, it is extremely important to get the nutrients you and your baby need. You are growing a brand new human body inside of you with millions of cells dividing and creating more cells, so it is imperative that you give your body the building blocks it needs to help ensure a positive outcome. When I had my midwife practice I strongly encouraged all of my mothers to make sure they were taking a good, all-natural prenatal supplement along with Red Raspberry leaf tea, wheatgerm oil and liquid chlorophyll.
Birthing Your Baby
When your baby is ready to be born – how will your body know to go into labor? There are a few different theories on what actually causes oxytocin to be released into the system. Oxytocin is the hormone which stimulates contractions to begin. One theory is that the pituitary gland in the mother’s body begins to secrete oxytocin when the baby is fully developed and ready to be born. Another theory is that the placenta decides when the baby is ready to be born and it triggers a ‘switch’ which causes the oxytocin to be released. The third most popular theory is that the baby’s lungs provide the signal to initiate labor. When the lungs have fully developed and matured, they produce a certain type of protein, which in turn sends a wave of prostaglandins through the mother’s body that may trigger labor. The truth is – no one knows for sure – it is still a mystery. This is one of the many miracles of the human body that man has not fully figured out yet.
Another pregnancy hormone that is released is known as relaxin. This hormone helps to loosen joints and ligaments, which can help to create more space in and around the pelvis, making it easier to give birth. However, this hormone is not just affecting the pelvis – it is also affecting other joints in the body which can lead to lower back pain and sciatic pain. The sciatic nerve runs from the lower back, through the hip and down the leg. Relaxin is also attributed to the ‘pregnancy waddle’ – an altered way of walking due to the increased belly size, change in center of gravity and loosened joints. Doing ‘cat stretches’ and/or pelvic rocks throughout your pregnancy will help to strengthen the lower body, encourage the baby to stay in a head-down position and give relief to many of these uncomfortable symptoms.
During pregnancy, your blood volume increases by up to 50%. This increase helps to take care of the growing baby and allows the mother a reserve for the birth process. This added volume can also cause a slight increase in the heart rate and a decrease in blood pressure. Lying on your back in late pregnancy can cause the blood pressure to dip even lower which may leave you feeling nauseated and light-headed.
The uterus is a pear-shaped, muscular organ that surrounds your baby, growing and expanding with the growth of the baby. The cervix is the door to the uterus – it is the narrow part of the pear and is made up of different tissue than the rest of the uterus.
During pregnancy the cervix is long, thick and closed. During labor, the contractions cause the cervix to be drawn up into the body of the uterus and it becomes thin – this is known as effacement. It is also being pulled open – this is dilation. In order to give birth, you need to be 100% effaced and 10 centimeters dilated.
Contractions are also tightening the uterus around the baby causing the baby to be pushed down out of the uterus, through the cervix, and into the vagina. The vagina is the pathway from the uterus to the outside of the body. After the baby is born, the uterus will continue to contract and reduce in size, so that the placenta will detach from its site and then be pushed out of the uterus.
There are four stages to labor:
Stage 1
This stage involves contractions which are helping you to efface and dilate
This stage of labor involves 3 phases:
Early phase– light contractions which can be 20 or more minutes apart, excitement about the birth of your baby, usually takes you to about 3 cm dilated
Active phase – hard work with contractions lasting a minute or more, 2 to 5 minutes apart, focused on labor, usually takes you to about 7 cm, water may break during this phase
Transition – shortest, hardest part of labor, typically when you feel like giving up, takes you from about 7 cm to 10 cm
Stage 2
This stage involves pushing your baby out
This stage can be accomplished in one to two pushes or it may last three or more hours – depends on whether this is a first baby, how the baby is positioned, how the mother is positioned, whether there have been any drugs involved with the birth
Stage 3
This stage involves the delivery of the placent
This stage is usually not difficult and can happen within minutes of the baby being delivered or can take up to an hour or more depending on when the placenta detaches
Nursing your baby after delivering can help the uterus to contract and release the placenta
Stage 4
This is the postpartum stage
This is the stage when you need to focus on healing and bonding with your beautiful new infant
It is important to nurse your baby every three to four hours in the first few days to help to help their blood sugar to stay leveled out, to help the meconium pass and to help insure a good milk supply when your milk comes in
When your baby is first born, you will produce colostrum which is full of your antibodies to help protect your newborn since they are born with a very immature immune system
Within three days your milk will come in. You may be engorged for a day or two, but standing in a hot shower and letting your milk run out will help to alleviate the discomfort
In this article we have discussed the physical changes of pregnancy and labor. However, it is important to remember that the mental and emotional state of the mother can also have a huge impact on how her pregnancy and labor will develop. If a mother does not want her baby or if she has a lot of fear and anxiety associated with birth, this can have a negative affect on how she perceives all these changes and how she approaches the birth itself. Conversely, if she is excited and happy about this new life and experience – it can have a positive effect on how her pregnancy, labor and birth will evolve.
In the beginning of this article, I mentioned that two of my daughters have recently given birth and both labors were perfect in spite of being very different. The reason I say this is because both ended with a beautiful healthy baby and a healthy mother. Neither one of them required stitches, both were able to produce plenty of milk and both healed very rapidly. After being a part of many births over the past four and a half decades, I can assure you that although each pregnancy and labor is unique and different – each one will be exactly what it should be if we are doing everything we can to help support a healthy pregnancy and delivery.