Also, visit a healthcare professional about your period if: 1  You havenât gotten your first period by age 15. 2  You donât menstruate for more than 90 days. 3  Your periods start to be very irregular after having previously been regular. 4  Your period lasts for more than seven days. 5  Your menstrual flow is more heavy than usual.
What's going on: Your baby is moving down the birth canal. Contractions continue to be strong, lasting for about 60 seconds and coming 3 to 5 minutes apart. You will likely feel a strong urge to push. How long it lasts: 1 to 2 hours for a first labor; 15 to 30 minutes for subsequent labors. If your baby is in distress at this point, or if she doesn't seem to be making her way through the birth canal, your doctor may decide to deliver her by c-section or use forceps to help her out.
During the first stage of labour your cervix â the neck of your womb â dilates to a rather incredible 10cm (yes, we did say 10) so that your baby can squeeze his or her way out. Understandably, this can take a while â typically, at least 12 hours in a first pregnancy (although it can be much longer).