Otherwise I'll briefly break it down for you here:
Stage 1 = Early Labor: This stage lasts the longest ranging anywhere from 6-12 hours. For some women they hardly know their bodies are changing and getting ready. The cervix can dilate up to 3cm.
Stage 1 = Active Labor: This stage seems to be for some women the most difficult especially if their pain is not controlled. This stage could last anywhere from 3-5 hours. This stage the Labor nurse needs to step up her game and stay strong not only for herself but for the patient too. Be supportive and let the woman know she can get through this and that she is strong! The cervix can dilate up to 7cm.
Stage 1 = Transition: This stage is nearing the time when it comes to start pushing. The laboring patient doesn't think she can handle one more ounce of pain or one more hour of waiting for her cervix to dilate. This stage ranges anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours. The cervix dilates to complete aka 10cm.
Stage 2 = Pushing: This is SHOW TIME! Yahoo the laboring patient's cervix is finally 10cm dilated, some women seem to get a second wind of adrenaline that gives them exactly enough energy to push the baby out. Now as a Labor nurse you need to find the strength to help get the laboring patient through this time mentally. She needs the most encouragement during this stage because with each push the baby moves forward but then slips back behind and under the pelvic bone. Which can last up anywhere from 20 minutes to 2 hours.
Stage 2 = Birth: FINALLY the baby's head has made it past the pelvic bone and is crowning. Phew, what felt like forever will be done in another couple pushes. Boom a miracle is born. Sometimes the reaction at birth can be anywhere from immense crying with tears of joy and shouts of happiness to exhaustion to complete and utter silence. The nursing staff and doctors can be emotional too.
Every family and every laboring woman is different. Each with a different story. Other women have a different reaction, where tears may not be made of joy instead sadness fills the air. Every road can be immensely intense and needs a strong nurse to help each patient along the way.
Stage 3 = Placental Birth: Baby's out and doing well. Now all the laboring woman has to do is deliver the placenta. Some women are just as nervous about this step as they are about delivering the baby. But trust me, most times delivering the placenta is much much easier than delivering the baby.
This is the best time to initiate skin-to-skin and breastfeeding. Otherwise if the woman would rather have the baby cleaned up first, then the Labor nurse can get a lot of the other to-do items completed at this time like "eyes and thighs" or footprints, weight and length etc etc.
