Regardless of the reason for your labour progressing slowly, and even if you have tried all the strategies we have suggested, there may come a point in time where your caregiver feels that 'enough is enough' and it is time to intervene. Depending on the circumstances and your caregiver's preferences, the interventions can vary.
Good contractions
Weak contractions
The baby is distressed
Good contractions
If the 2nd Stage is slow or showing little signs of progress despite good, strong, regular contractions then your caregiver is more likely to suspect a problem.
For women having their first baby where both the mother and baby are coping and the baby is not showing signs of distress, then it may not necessarily reflect a serious problem and you could try some of the strategies mentioned, if your caregiver is happy to allow you the time.
For women having their second, or subsequent baby this could signal that the labour is obstructed, perhaps because the baby is in an unusual position and your caregiver may move to intervene within an hour if the baby has not been born. In most cases this would mean a Caesarean birth even though the cervix is fulled dilated. You can read more about Caesareans in
Class 9.
If the strategies you try do not help and your baby is not moving down, then your baby may need assistance with their journey. In most cases if you are fully dilated, your caregiver would intervene by performing an 'assisted delivery'. This is where either a ventouse (also known as the vacuum method) or forceps is used (or occasionally an Episiotomy), depending on how low your baby is sitting in the vagina.
For some women who are losing motivation, the verbal mention of these interventions can be enough to give them the physical strength they need to push their baby out. For more information on assisted delivery you can click onto the following headings:
Forceps delivery
Ventouse extraction
Episiotomy
Weak contractions