Being pregnant for the first time can you tell me what the active labor phase is like?


The sure thing is you have made progress though things are going to get rough now for a while. You will experience a lot of discomfort which seems to come too frequently for your liking. Your cervix is probably dilating about 8cm with regular contractions occurring every 2-3 minutes and lasting for a minute or slightly longer. Distraction just won't do the trick and it is becoming increasingly difficult to walk and talk through the contractions. You will probably feel like sitting down or standing against the wall most of the time to ease off the pain. The good part is contractions don't last forever - you do get a break in between where you feel no pain at all and can therefore rest. After hurting for 60 seconds or so you will feel no pain for 3-5 minutes before the next contraction sets in.