3/13/2024 0 Comments The cardinal movements of labor![]() False labor can be stopped by hydrating and resting. False labor are contractions that are not strong or regular. Sometimes false labor can feel like true labor. False labor occurs because the uterus is a muscle and it contracts to prepare for childbirth. They are contractions that cause cervical change so dilation and effacement. True labor are contractions that are regular and can be timed. So let’s look at true labor versus false labor. For mechanisms of labor the patient needs to be in true labor. There is also a great youtube video attached to this lesson that you can watch to visualize each movement. External rotation can now occur to deliver or expel the rest of the body. The head is engaged and there is descent of the fetus. In this image you can see the head is applied to the cervix and the cardinal movements start. That fetus is going to expel the rest of its body out. Sometimes the physician will help to do this. So the head is delivered and it will rotate to realign its body. This movement ends with the head delivering. ![]() The face is aligned with the maternal rectum and extends its head. ![]() It will extend its neck so it is not chin to chest anymore to better get itself under those pelvis bones. So after internal rotation we have extension. So it is going to rotate itself around then extend itself. The fetus will then have internal rotation. If the fetus is higher up above the ischial spines then it is -1,-2 and so on. As the baby gets closer to delivery it will be lower which is measured in centimeters and described as +1, +2 and so on. This is discussed in the module on process of labor but basically you can see in this image that zero station means the fetus is at the ischial spines of the pelvis. Descent is spoken in terms of the station that the fetus is in. Flexion is that chin to chest to help the fetus move it’s way out. Now descent, so the fetus is moving further towards the “exit” and flexion of the head occurs. This can happen a few weeks before delivery and is also known as “lightening”. This is the head in the pelvis engaged in and not moving back up. These are the movements that the fetus does to find its way out. The mechanisms of labor are known as the cardinal movements. In this lesson I will explain how labor and the delivery occurs and your role in assisting the patient in a successful delivery.
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