Real-Life Math -- Solution
You have timed 6 of your patient's contractions. Now you have to figure out if this is true labor, and if the birth is imminent. In true labor, the contractions develop into a regular pattern.
- 9:11:10 to 9:11:25 - 15 seconds
- 9:22:12 to 9:22:29 - 17 seconds
- 9:31:10 to 9:31:23 - 13 seconds
- 9:45:12 to 9:45:27 - 15 seconds
- 9:52:10 to 9:52:26 - 16 seconds
You can see that the contractions all last about the same amount of time. But what about their frequency?
The 6 contractions occurred at:
- 9:11
- 9:22
- 9:31
- 9:38
- 9:45
- 9:52
You can see that there is 11 minutes between the first and second contractions, 9 minutes between the second and third, 7 minutes between the third and fourth, 7 minutes between the fourth and fifth, and 7 minutes between the fifth and sixth.
You can also see that the contractions all occurred within an hour, so the mother has maintained a regular pattern and the birth should happen soon.
Anne Sommers, a midwife in California, enjoys the variety of her work and the detective aspect of it. She says determining time of birth is one of the interesting tasks of being a midwife.
"I have to listen, investigate and solve women's health problems," including determining when a contraction means that the birth is imminent, says Sommers. Since no two pregnancies are the same, contractions and time of birth will be different with every patient.