Childbirth Summary When you are ready to have your baby, you’ll go through labor. Contractions let you know labor is starting. When contractions are five minutes apart, your body is ready to push the baby out. During the first stage of labor, your cervix slowly opens, or dilates, to about 4 inches wide. At the same time, it becomes thinner. This is called effacement. You shouldn’t push until your uterus is fully effaced and dilated. When it is, the baby delivery stage starts. Crowning is when your baby’s scalp comes into view. Shortly afterward, your baby is born. The placenta that nourished the baby follows. Mothers and babies are monitored closely during labor. Most women are healthy enough to have a baby through normal vaginal delivery, meaning that the baby comes down the birth canal without surgery. If there are complications, the baby may need to be delivered surgically by a Cesarean section. Dept. of Health and Human Services Office on Women’s Health Array After vaginal delivery – in the hospital Am I in labor? Assisted delivery with forceps Delivery presentations Delivery presentations Epidural – slideshow Epidural block Episiotomy Episiotomy – slideshow Spinal and epidural anesthesia Vaginal birth – slideshow Vaginal delivery – discharge What you should bring to your labor and delivery Related Issues Apgar Scores American Academy of Pediatrics Birth Plans Nemours Foundation Birthing Centers and Hospital Maternity Services Nemours Foundation Birthing Classes Nemours Foundation Cord-Blood Banking Nemours Foundation Elective Deliveries Before 39 Weeks of Pregnancy: Information for Moms to Be National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Elective Delivery Before 39 Weeks American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Information for Moms-to-Be about the New Full-Term Pregnancy Definition National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Let Baby Set the Delivery Date: Wait Until 39 Weeks if You Can National Institutes of Health Midwives Nemours Foundation Perineal Massage in Pregnancy American College of Nurse-Midwives What Is Full Term? March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation Specifics Assisted Vaginal Delivery American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Back Labor: Childbirth Myth or Reality? Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research Episiotomy: When It’s Needed, When It’s Not Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research Home Birth: Know the Pros and Cons Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research Labor Induction American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists MedlinePlus: Cesarean Section National Library of Medicine Natural Childbirth Nemours Foundation Vaginal Birth After Cesarean Delivery: Deciding on a Trial of Labor After a Cesarean Delivery (TOLAC) American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Videos and Tutorials At Least 39 Weeks March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation Labor and Delivery: At the Hospital March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation Signs of Labor Healthy Roads Media Your Recovery After Vaginal Birth – Part 1 Healthy Roads Media Your Recovery After Vaginal Birth – Part 2 Healthy Roads Media Encyclopedia Choosing the right health care provider for pregnancy and childbirth Episotomy – aftercare Fetal scalp pH testing Inducing labor Managing pain during labor Premature rupture of membranes Strategies for getting through labor Tips for labor coaches Vacuum-assisted delivery Vaginal birth after C-section What to include in your birth plan Clinical Trials ClinicalTrials.gov: Delivery, Obstetric National Institutes of Health ClinicalTrials.gov: Labor, Obstetric National Institutes of Health Diagnosis and Tests Contractions March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation Fetal Heart Rate Monitoring during Labor American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists How to Tell When Labor Begins American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Signs of Labor March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation Water Breaking: Understand This Sign of Labor Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research Treatments and Therapies Dealing with Pain during Childbirth Nemours Foundation Medications for Pain Relief during Labor and Delivery American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Statistics and Research FastStats: Births — Method of Delivery National Center for Health Statistics FastStats: Obstetrical Procedures National Center for Health Statistics Home Births in the United States, 1990-2009 National Center for Health Statistics PeriStats: Perinatal Statistics March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation Recent Declines in Induction of Labor by Gestational Age National Center for Health Statistics Trends in Out-of-Hospital Births in the United States, 1990-2012 National Center for Health Statistics Start Here Labor and Birth Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women’s Health Stages of Labor March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation What Is Labor? National Institute of Child Health and Human Development What Role Does Obstetrical Care Play in Childbirth? National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Journal Articles Labor & delivery Find an Expert womenshealth.gov Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women’s Health Latest News Repeat C-Section May Have No Long-Term Health Risk for Baby HealthDay More U.S. Women Delivering Babies At Home or Birth Centers HealthDay
