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A Vanilla Pregnancy
What Is Just an Average Pregnancy?
By Shannon McKelden
Dr. Pearsall confirms that an overweight woman could gain as little as 4 to 5 pounds eating a healthy diet and have a healthy infant (or two, as in Rosenberg's case).
During pregnancy, the average length of time morning sickness lasts is about 14 weeks. Jennifer Willoughby fit right into that average. "[I had] a little morning sickness in weeks 7 to 13 and mild tiredness, but overall felt great," says the mom from Soquel, Calif.
It was Willoughby's deliveries that were extreme. "My first came within two hours of my water breaking," she says. "I had had very mild early contractions up until that point and then things progressed extremely rapidly. Upon arrival at the hospital I was dilated to 4 centimeters. After they completed the intake and moved me to my room I was dilated to 8 with no hope of having an epidural. I delivered within 20 minutes, with three pushes." Her second delivery was even faster.
"Labor can be defined as the presence of contractions of the uterus that are frequent enough, strong enough and last long enough to bring about the shortening (effacement) and the opening (dilatation) of the cervix," Dr. Pearsall says.
During the first stage of labor, many patients remain home (or are sent home by the hospital). This length of time is extremely variable from patient to patient.
"Active labor usually is the time from the cervix being 3 to 4 centimeters dilated to the actual delivery," Dr. Pearsall says. During this time, the cervix dilates in preparation for delivery, and the speed at which this happens varies for new moms or repeat moms. "This makes the average first time labor eight to 10 hours and six to eight hours for previous mothers.Again there is extreme individual variation depending on the size of the baby, the size of the mother's pelvis and the ability of the uterus to contract effectively."
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