Childbirth

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.

Breeched Birth: Caesarean Section or Vaginal Delivery?

Breech presentation is common in about 15% of pregnancies at 29 to 32 weeks.

Signs Labor Has Begun

Evidence for Having a Water Birth

Natural Childbirth

Complications of the third stage of labor

Heel Prick Test / Guthrie Test

Water Birth Safety

Anal Sphincter Injury During Childbirth

Benefits and Risks of Forceps (Ventouse) Delivery

What Happens When your Waters Break?

What is a Transverse Baby?

Making a Birth Plan

See more featured articles »

What do Contractions Feel Like?

Lithotomy Positioning

Active management of the third stage of labor

How to Relieve Pain During Labor

Assisted Birth: Forceps or Vacuum Delivery

The External Cephalic Version Process

Latest Childbirth News and Research

Long periods of parental leave after childbirth associated with higher risk of unhealthy behavior

A new study by the University of Vienna shows that particularly long periods of parental leave around the birth of a child are associated with a higher risk of unhealthy behavior - specifically smoking - in the long term.

30 Jun 2025

Investigating the role of ultra-processed foods in the inheritance of autism and ADHD

In a recent publication released by PubMed, American scientist Dr. Renee Dufault at the Food Ingredient and Health Research Institute, provides a peer-reviewed protocol for determining the role ultra-processed foods play in prenatal heavy metal exposures and changes in the expression of the zinc dependent MT-1 (metallothionein) gene that impact child neurodevelopment.

27 Jun 2025

Postpartum hemorrhage linked to increased cardiovascular problems years later

Women who experience severe bleeding after giving birth face elevated risks to their cardiovascular health that can persist for up to 15 years – a new analysis of data from over 9.7 million women across Europe, North America and Asia shows.

25 Jun 2025

Health risks for newborns rise with increasing maternal age

Giving birth to a child after 40 is becoming more and more common – but it can entail an increased risk to the child.

23 Jun 2025

Sensory sensitivity and partner support shape perinatal depression trajectories

Persistent sadness, fatigue, changes in sleep and appetite, or loss of interest are common symptoms in mothers suffering from perinatal depression.

18 Jun 2025

Oxytocin stimulates pancreatic hormones to improve insulin secretion

A new research paper was published in Aging (Aging-US) Volume 17, Issue 5, on May 1, 2025, titled "Oxytocin modulates insulin and GLP-1 secretion in pancreatic islets."

18 Jun 2025

WHO releases new guidance to expand midwifery care worldwide

The World Health Organization (WHO) today released new guidance to help countries adopt and expand midwifery models of care - where midwives serve as the main care provider for women and babies throughout pregnancy, childbirth, and the postnatal period.

18 Jun 2025

Childhood weight gain leads to taller adults without increasing obesity risk

In children with undernutrition, increasing weight in a child’s first decade of life can lead to significantly taller adults—with no increase in the risk of obesity or high blood pressure later in life, according to a new University of Michigan study.

16 Jun 2025

‘One big beautiful bill’ would batter rural hospital finances, researchers say

Cuts to Medicaid and other federal health programs proposed in President Donald Trump's budget plan would rapidly push more than 300 financially struggling rural hospitals toward a fiscal cliff, according to researchers who track the facilities' finances.

12 Jun 2025

Antibiotic use predicts microbiota dysbiosis in preterm infants

Antibiotic use in preterm infants is linked to gut microbiome changes, increasing susceptibility to infections and impacting long-term health outcomes.

11 Jun 2025

Early signs of breastfeeding failures after premature birth

A study on breastfeeding after premature birth identifies key factors affecting milk composition and volume, emphasizing the need for early support for mothers.

10 Jun 2025

Preeclampsia linked to long-term cerebrovascular damage and worsened stroke outcomes

Pre-eclampsia (PE), a serious hypertensive disorder that affects approximately 3–8% of pregnant women, is known to have long-lasting effects on the maternal vascular system.

6 Jun 2025

Early heart ultrasound may predict birth complications in babies

An echocardiography of the baby's little heart soon after the onset of labour can predict the outcome of the birth and in particular whether the baby will adequately tolerate the contractions or will be more likely to go into distress, necessitating a caesarean section or an operative delivery.

5 Jun 2025

Early gut bacteria may help protect babies from respiratory infections

A baby's makeup of gut bacteria - their microbiome - which starts to form as soon as they are born, could help protect against viral infections later in childhood, a new study suggests.

5 Jun 2025

Breastfeeding habits barely change milk’s microbiome, study reveals

A study shows that breastfeeding frequency and duration do not significantly alter the human milk microbiome, highlighting other influencing factors.

4 Jun 2025

Higher BMI, not menopause age, increases hypothyroidism risk

Researchers analyzed over 15,000 postmenopausal Canadian women to investigate whether age at natural menopause influences the risk of developing overt hypothyroidism. The study found no association, but higher BMI was linked to increased hypothyroidism risk.

29 May 2025

New mothers experience severe loss of uninterrupted sleep after birth

A new study to be presented at the SLEEP 2025 annual meeting quantifies the amount of sleep loss experienced by first-time mothers in the weeks after giving birth and is the first to identify the unique type of sleep disruption that persists throughout the first months of motherhood.

27 May 2025