The third stage of labour is the time between when your baby has been born and the birth of the placenta. Your womb will continue to contract and will be reducing in size. As your womb becomes smaller the placenta will comes away from the side of the uterus and move down into your vagina. As this happens you will have some blood loss as the blood vessels that were connecting the placenta and the uterus will temporarily bleed. The blood loss reduces once the blood vessels constrict and close up the space where your placenta was attached. Physiological third…

Your perineum Your perineum is the tissue between your vagina and your anus.  During birth you can experience perineal trauma/tearing.  This can be classified into four degrees of severity: 1st degree – these only affect the skin, they usually do not require any repair and heal quickly on their own. 2nd degree – these affect the skin and the perineal muscle layer, repair is usually needed. 3rd and 4th degree – 3.5% of women will experience a more substantial tear which involves the muscle that controls the anus. This degree of tear will need to be repaired in theatre. Episiotomy…