Stages of labor are referred to only if women have questions about them from various books. However, it is questionable whether either of these terms is needed for description of labor, as both tend to artificially divide a whole into parts. In classes, women are introduced to labor as a phenomenon which begins with early labor, which may go on for days or weeks. Early labor is generally considered as 1-4 cms. Women are encouraged to go about their daily lives, with some adjustment or relaxation, but to do all their normal activities in between contractions, letting the contractions come and go, centering attention on the contraction as it comes and returning to daily activity as it wanes.
Labor gradually grows more and more painful, creating an increasingly intense focus.
When a woman can no longer go about her daily activities in between contractions, she is considered to be in hard labor, focusing all of her energy between and during contractions on her body giving birth. It is during this later phase of labor that women are encouraged to vocalize as needed or desired. Description of transition is an artificially divided piece of labor as described in childbirth literature. Many a first mother is mentally ready to quit when she finds it is not true for her, since she had not prepared herself for pain or hard labor beyond this point. This delusion has caused many arrests in this part of labor, and is not realistic preparation.