During this time, you have to work to help the baby move from your uterus into the world. It may be some of the hardest work you will ever do. Your cervix, which is made up of firm tissue shaped like a small doughnut with a tiny hole in the center, has been closed throughout the pregnancy. Now it must stretch wide enough for the baby to pass through. The uterus tightens or contracts and forces the opening wider, little by little, over a period of several hours.
Contractions feel different to different women.
Some describe them like a wave that builds to a peak and then recedes. Labor is divided into stages. The second stage of labor begins when you push the baby out of the uterus into the birth canal and ends when the baby is born. The whole process of labor lasts about 12-14 hours for a first baby and about 7 hours for subsequent babies. This is done by a vaginal examination.