Baby Delivery
Childbirth, also known as labor or delivery, is the ending of pregnancy where one or more babies leave the uterus by passing through the vagina or by Caesarean section.
The most common way of childbirth is vaginal delivery.[It involves three stages of labor: the shortening and opening of the cervix during the first stage, descent and birth of the baby during the second stage, and the delivery of the placenta during the third stage. The first stage begins with crampy abdominal or back pain that lasts around half a minute and occurs every 10 to 30 minutes. The pain becomes stronger and closer together over time. The second stage ends when the infant is fully expelled. In the third stage, the delivery of the placenta delayed clamping of the umbilical cord is generally recommended.
Signs and symptoms
The most prominent sign of labor is strong repetitive uterine contractions. The distress levels reported by laboring women vary widely. They appear to be influenced by fear and anxiety levels, experience with prior childbirth, cultural ideas of childbirth pain, mobility during labor, and the support received during labor. Personal expectations, the amount of support from caregivers, quality of the caregiver-patient relationship, and involvement in decision-making are more important in women’s overall satisfaction with the experience of childbirth than are other factors such as age, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, preparation, physical environment, pain, immobility, or medical interventions