Third Stage of Labour: Delivering the Placenta

What is the third stage of labour?

Hurray! Your baby is finally born! But before you rejoice and think that it’s the end....Hold on, because that’s not it. There’s one last thing you have to do, and that’s to deliver the placenta.

The placenta played perhaps the most important role in bringing life to your baby and nourishing him from a tiny egg to birth. The delivery of the placenta marks the end of your pregnancy journey with your little one, and the start of a brand new parenting journey.

How do I deliver the placenta?

Soon after your baby is delivered, you will have mild contractions that help to separate the placenta from the uterus. Once your placenta is detached from the uterine wall, it moves through your birth canal and gets pushed out.  The best thing about delivering the placenta is that most women do not feel pain during this stage. Many do not even notice the placenta passing through their birth canal.

During this stage, your doctor may accelerate your placenta delivery by gently tugging on the cord with one hand while massaging your uterus with the other hand.

Your doctor may also administer you some oxytocin via an IV drip to induce contractions in order to push the placenta out.

Once your placenta is out, your doctor will check the placenta to ensure that it’s intact and that there are no remaining fragments left in the body.

The process of delivering your placenta will last from 30 minutes to an hour, and in the meantime, you can already start breastfeeding your baby if you are able to.

What happens after I deliver the placenta?

Yay! You have reached the end of labour. All that’s left to do is for your doctor to stitch you up and for the nurses to clean you. You will most likely be given some thick pads to wear since you will be experiencing some post-pregnancy bleeding, also known as lochia. After that, you will be transferred to another room where you can rest and cuddle with your baby and partner (as long as the baby is fine and has no complications).

Congratulations, mummy! You did it!