Childbirth is the moment when the baby leaves the mother’s body and becomes an independent individual. It is accompanied by painful uterine contractions, which cause the birth canal to open and help expel the baby. The labor process consists of a latent and an active phase. The active phase of labor is divided into three stages. The duration of the entire labor is always individual.
 

Uterine contractions are caused by the tightening of the uterine muscles. They manifest as a hardening of the pregnant belly. At the beginning of labor, contractions are irregular, short, and resemble menstrual cramps in the lower abdomen or back. As labor progresses, contractions become more regular, intensify, and lengthen, affecting the progression of the vaginal examination, i.e., the opening of the birth canal.

During this period, we recommend spending as much time as possible in the shower, bath, or on a birthing ball. Try to find your comfort position. Our midwives may suggest and offer aromatherapy for relaxation.

Comfort positions during labor

Proper breathing will help you manage pain during contractions. The correct breathing technique not only ensures adequate oxygen supply to the baby during a contraction but also minimizes hyperventilation, dizziness, and potential nausea.

You may forget the pain over time or recall it as much milder. The intensity of pain increases with the progression of the vaginal examination and is closely related to the frequency, duration, and strength of uterine contractions. At Apolinář Hospital, we offer various pain relief methods to help manage labor pain — non-pharmacological (comfort positions, hydrotherapy, aromatherapy) and pharmacological (epidural analgesia, Remifentanil, Nalbuphine, and Actynox). The choice of analgesia method depends on your preferences. The main goal of pain management is to provide you with maximum relief while allowing you to actively participate in the birthing process.

At our maternity hospital, it is possible to collect umbilical cord blood and tissue during childbirth.

What is umbilical cord blood?

Umbilical cord blood is the newborn’s blood contained in the placenta and umbilical cord. It is the baby’s blood, which does not mix with the mother’s blood and contains various types of stem cells, the most important of which today are hematopoietic stem cells and progenitor blood cells. Umbilical cord blood can be collected during delivery, processed, and stored long-term for future therapeutic and regenerative use. The umbilical cord tissue itself is also important and can be stored for use in regenerative medicine.

What is umbilical cord tissue?

Umbilical cord tissue is essentially part of your baby’s umbilical cord. The umbilical cord connects the placenta to the baby and allows the transport of blood from the placenta to the fetus and back. After birth, the cord is clamped and cut, thus separating the baby from the mother. At this stage, it is possible to collect umbilical cord tissue (and blood). The remaining cord stays attached to the placenta, which is usually disposed of after delivery.

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Our obstetricians recommend inducing labor when continuing the pregnancy poses a higher risk to you or your baby, making it advisable to give birth as soon as possible. There are many situations in which it is no longer appropriate to wait for labor to start spontaneously and induction is considered. Our obstetric team regularly consults with you about the current progress of the pregnancy and labor, and together you choose the best possible approach.

If your amniotic fluid has spontaneously leaked before labor, come to our maternity ward as soon as possible for admission. If our initial examination confirms that the amniotic fluid has leaked, you will remain in the hospital. The baby’s physiological CTG (monitor) is regularly monitored. If labor contractions do not start spontaneously within 24 hours of the fluid leakage, it is advisable to initiate labor induction.

Part of the birth preparation at the Birth Center includes a shower and an enema. The decision to undergo the cleansing enema is entirely up to you.

During labor, you may eat and drink. The most suitable beverage is still water. For food, we recommend small portions of easily digestible foods rich in quick sugars (e.g., banana, grape sugar…)

Cardiotocographic examination (monitor) is used to monitor the condition of the fetus at the end of pregnancy and especially during labor. If the ongoing monitor results are normal, continuous monitoring during labor is not necessary. A check-up monitor will be provided every two to three hours.

Upon admission to the delivery room, a doctor or midwife will perform a vaginal examination to determine the stage of your labor. Based on your current condition and the progression of labor, the obstetrician or midwife will decide the number and necessity of further vaginal examinations.

If both you and your baby are doing well, we will accommodate your choice of birth position as much as possible.

If the test for Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is positive, we administer antibiotics throughout the entire labor – from the onset of regular contractions or spontaneous rupture of membranes until the birth of your baby. The administration of antibiotics serves as a prevention against possible neonatal infection.

During labor, we try to intervene as little as possible with medication. However, there are situations where the use of certain drugs is necessary, and their administration is safer for the progress of labor.

The most commonly used medications during labor in our maternity hospital include uterotonics (Oxytocin), antibiotics (ATB), antispasmodics (Buscopan), epidural analgesia, and local anesthetics.

Cesarean section is a type of surgical delivery in which the baby is removed from the mother’s body through an incision in the abdominal wall. A cesarean section on request is not possible. It is performed when the health of the mother, the baby, or both is at risk. A cesarean birth can be either emergency or planned and may be done under general or regional anesthesia. The choice of anesthesia depends on your preference, always after consultation with the anesthesiologists.

More information about possible anesthesia methods during delivery can be found here:

Childbirth from the anesthesiologist’s perspective – information for mothers

More information about planned cesarean sections:

Planned termination of pregnancy by cesarean section

Episiotomy is not routinely performed in our maternity ward.

If you wish to have a vaginal birth after a previous cesarean section, consult your situation with our specialists in the pregnancy clinic. Vaginal birth after cesarean is possible, but only if certain conditions are met.

In our maternity hospital, spontaneous twin birth is possible under certain conditions:

• They must be fraternal twins in a longitudinal head-down position for both babies.
• The twins must meet the required estimated weight for managing a spontaneous twin birth. If you wish to deliver twins vaginally, consult your situation with our specialists in the pregnancy clinic.

In our maternity hospital, spontaneous breech birth is possible under certain conditions. If you wish to give birth vaginally with your baby in breech position, consult your situation with our specialists in the pregnancy clinic.

Establishing a bond between mother and baby is important, and therefore we strive to support bonding as much as possible, meaning placing the baby on the mother’s or father’s body immediately after birth. In our maternity ward, it is customary to wait for the umbilical cord to stop pulsing after birth. Only then is the cord cut by one of the parents or your companion. Subsequently, skin-to-skin bonding takes place, the baby is fitted with a cap and a sensor to monitor basic physiological functions, and is covered with a warm blanket. Typically, the baby remains with the mother for about two hours after birth. During this period, the newborn also has the first opportunity to latch onto the mother’s breast.

More information

After a spontaneous delivery, you stay in the delivery room for two hours. We will monitor your physiological functions (blood pressure and temperature), observe the amount of bleeding and uterine contractions. If everything is normal, you will eat and drink, then take a shower, and afterwards you will be transferred to the postpartum ward.