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You can finish a marathon in under five hours if you train like a pro, but all the prenatal prep in the world won?t help you deliver a baby in record time. And if it?s your first, it?s likely to take even longer than you assume. ?A first-time mom can expect to labour for 14 to 20 hours,? says Yolanda Kirkham, an OB/GYN at Women?s College Hospital and St. Joseph?s Health Centre in Toronto.
Shelley Gordon spent nearly 24 hours in active labour with her first child. The Hamilton, Ont., yoga teacher?s pregnancy was already in overtime?she was two weeks past her due date and had to be induced, which can itself contribute to a longer delivery. Once it began, Gordon?s labour was a series of stops and starts. She would dilate to 10 centimetres and then push and push?for almost an hour?but still, no baby. Over 24 hours, she went through the push-stop-and-rest cycle three times. Her OB/GYN then tried using forceps, to no avail. At this point, it was too risky to continue labouring, so a few hours later, she finally delivered her son, Wallace, via C-section. The best way to prepare for the unpredictability of labour is to understand the stages and put together a support team to get you through it, says Shannon Arntfield, a faculty member in the department of obstetrics and gynaecology at Western University in London, Ont.
The four stages of labour

The initial stage consists of two phases. The first, known as the latent phase or early labour, occurs before you...