Question: how long does it take for a baby to be born?

Simon Langley-Evans answered on 12 Nov 2013:

Thanks for the question. It can vary a lot. When a woman goes into labour the amount of time between the start of labour and the birth of the baby can be as short as a few minutes and as long as a week! There are 3 different stages of labour and it is the first stage that varies the most.

Stage 1: The baby is in the womb and has to be pushed out through the vagina. Between the womb and the vagina is an opening called the cervix and during pregnancy this is tightly closed. The first stage of pregnancy is all about the contractions of labour opening the cervix up until it is 10cm wide, which is enough for the baby to pass through. This can take a long time and varies between women. Some lucky women have a very short first stage while others have to labour for days. Most women have shorter labours for their second and third babies and have to work harder the first time round.

Stage 2: This is where the woman pushes the baby out. She works with strong contractions of the womb to push the baby out through the cervix into the vagina and then into the outside world. This usually takes less than an hour. In most hospitals they don’t let women push for longer than this and will remove the baby either through a caesarian section (taking baby out through opening the abdomen) or using instruments attached to baby’s head to pull it out. This could either be forceps that go around the head, or a thing called a ventouse which is a bit like a sink plunger that sticks onto the head.

Stage 3: The placenta has to be delivered as well as it harms the woman if it stays in the womb. This is usually pretty quick and takes 20-40 minutes. If it doesn’t happen an operation may be needed to remove it.