I know it is the position of the baby's head, but if he's at -1 does it mean he's coming soon? How long does it take to go from station to station and how far along should you be if your at -1? And what are you usually at when you are in actual labor?
I believe that a 0 station means that the head is even with the cervix. So you're definitely closer to having a baby, but the station has nothing to do with being in labor; your uterus has to be contracting and your cervix dilating for you to be in labor.
Re: what does -1 station mean?
Proud mama to a boys- 6/17/09 - a girl 2/23/11- and a boy 8/20/12
As far as I know, +3 is when the baby is "crowning" or close to it. -3 means the baby is up high and not engaged.
You could be at -1 for a long time. It tells you nothing about how close to labour you are, unless you're at +2 or +3...
-4 is head down still floating
-3 in pelvis
-2 farther down
-1 down in pelvis
0 directly in pelvis
+1 beginning to crown
+2 crown
+3 crown
+4 Baby out of pelvis.
stations can take a long time. -1 just means that your baby has almost fully dropped to 0. labor is in the + stages.