TO ELIMINATE fear of childbirth, a woman must understand the mechanics of childbirth, so that she understands the different stages of it and in so doing, rids herself of the fear of the un-known

The uterus is housed in the pelvic cavity which is made up of three bones, the two hip bones on the sides, and the sacrum or base of the spine at the back. As the baby passes through these bones, their joints loosen up and spread slightly apart, in order to make room for the baby to pass through. The bottom of the pelvic body is made up of layers of muscles known as the pelvic floor. The pelvic floor muscles have three openings from front to back, the urethra, the vagina and the rectum. During delivery, the baby is eased out of its vaginal opening.

The uterus in a non-pregnant woman is about the size of a fist, and shaped like a bottle turned upside down. In a fully pregnant woman, it is large enough to house a fully grown baby or babies, along with the amniotic fluid which fills the woman womb, so that the baby floats in it, and is thus protected from falls and blows

The placenta is a tissue growth attached to the uterus. It is often referred to as the afterbirth, as it is delivered after the baby. During the baby’s stay in the uterus, the placenta prepares food and oxygen for the baby, and passes them to it through a rope of blood vessels, called the umbilical cord

The opening of the uterus, the cervix, which corresponds to the neck of the inverted bottle, is plugged by a mucous plug, just like a cork plug up a bottle. This plug prevents infection from entering the uterus. During labour this plug comes away and the cervix opens slowly to a dilation of five fingers.

There are three signs that herald the onset of labour. (1) Rhythmic contractions, that come at regular intervals. The interval slowly shortens from 10 to 3 minutes (2) Staining or spotting as the mucous plug that plugs the cervix begins to come away (3) A sudden loss of water or thimblefuls of water might begin to escape. This is the fluid from the amniotic sac

As the labour sets in, the woman should remain relaxed, and not tighten the muscles of her body. A woman who constantly practices relaxation and educates herself to understand that childbirth does not necessarily mean pain, will go a long way in making her experience pleasurable rather than painful. She will feel each contraction as muscle action, which has a beginning growth, peak and decline, rather than as unbearable pain. She will save energy that would otherwise be lost in tension

If she couples relaxation with breathing techniques she will further help herself, as the concentration she will require in taking short, shallow breaths, will disassociate her mind from the discomfort. Shallow panting breaths also ensure an adequate intake of oxygen enriched air. Also, they use only the muscles of the chest, and leave the abdominal muscles free to carry on their task

It is therefore, every much within the control of women to transform a seemingly frightful experience into a most fulfilling one