Show childbirth
The first stage of Labor lasts about 12 to 19 hours and starts when your baby settles lower into your pelvis....
Live birth: Natural
Video note: Contains medical situations and nudity.
Video note: Contains medical situations and nudity.
If you're in a public place, consider watching this later.
In a natural birth, the mother gives birth vaginally without pain medication (like an epidural). Natural childbirth can be a safe option for a low-risk pregnancy.
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If your pregnancy is high risk – if you have a heart condition, preeclampsia, or diabetes; are carrying twins; or your baby is breech – or if there's a chance a C-section will be necessary, a natural birth may not be recommended.
Talk to your healthcare provider about your best options for labor and delivery.
Natural births also forgo some other medical interventions, like fetal monitoring, episiotomies, and medications to induce or speed up labor.
Your fetus will likely be monitored intermittently using a hand-held Doppler device or a fetoscope (a fetal stethoscope).
One benefit of natural birth is you can move around, exploring different labor positions to find the ones that are most comfortable for you.
If you get an epidural, you&#x