The third stage of labor starts after your baby is born and ends with birthing the placenta. Even after your beautiful baby is born your uterus will continue to contract. These contractions are generally more mild than the contractions you experience during birth. As your uterus begins to contract and shrink, your placenta will detach from your uterine wall. The blood vessels are then closed off, and the placenta is pushed out. You have a lot of options as to what interventions are employed during this stage and whether your care provider uses active or expectant management. This includes the timing of clamping the umbilical cord, medications, and physically pulling on the umbilical cord. This episode explains all of your choices during the third stage of labor and examines the research to give you all of the information you need to make an informed decision.

Show Notes: http://pregnancypodcast.com/episode153/

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Thank you to Mommy Steps for their support of this episode. Mommy Steps makes insoles specifically for pregnancy. They have insoles for athletic shoes and ones for flats or boots. You can even heat them in your oven and mold them to your own foot to make you more comfortable and to prevent foot issues during pregnancy. Mommy Steps is offering an exclusive discount for listeners of the Pregnancy Podcast. Go to http://pregnancypodcast.com/feet/ and enter the promo code FEET to save 20% off.