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.

How to Relieve Pain During Labor

What Happens When your Waters Break?

Evidence for Having a Water Birth

Heel Prick Test / Guthrie Test

What do Contractions Feel Like?

Signs Labor Has Begun

Complications of the third stage of labor

Anal Sphincter Injury During Childbirth

The External Cephalic Version Process

What is a Transverse Baby?

Assisted Birth: Forceps or Vacuum Delivery

See more featured articles »

Lithotomy Positioning

Natural Childbirth

Water Birth Safety

Making a Birth Plan

Benefits and Risks of Forceps (Ventouse) Delivery

Active management of the third stage of labor

Latest Childbirth News and Research

This Northern Cheyenne doula was about to start getting paid — then Medicaid cuts hit

Misty Pipe had about an hour before her shift began at the post office. She used that time to check in on a new mom who lives a few miles outside this town at the heart of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation.

7 Apr 2026

Trial tests fast-acting brain stimulation for postpartum depression treatment

The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai today announced the enrollment of its first patient in a U.S. Department of Defense-funded pivotal clinical trial to evaluate whether a fast-acting, drug-free brain stimulation therapy can safely and quickly relieve symptoms of postpartum depression.

1 Apr 2026

Antibiotic use before and during pregnancy linked to psychological distress

Perinatal depression, which occurs during pregnancy or in the period after childbirth, is one of the most common mental health conditions experienced by women.

1 Apr 2026

Aging reshapes breast tissue creating environment favorable for cancer

Scientists have created the most detailed map to date, comprised of over 3 million cells, showing how breast tissue changes as women age – including dramatic changes during menopause.

31 Mar 2026

New mother’s experience highlights importance of postpartum heart care

At 35, Brooklyn resident Luyba Caloras was healthy, with no history of heart problems and no reason to think she was at risk of them. But pregnancy can act as a stress test on the heart—and soon after delivering her son at NYU Langone Health on February 3, 2024, she was diagnosed with a complication she never expected.

27 Mar 2026

New fathers face delayed mental health risks after childbirth

Paternal mental health risks increase after childbirth, with delayed detection of psychiatric disorders underscoring the need for targeted support for fathers.

26 Mar 2026

Global indicators identified to monitor health before pregnancy worldwide

The key health and social indicators needed for a new global system to monitor people's health before pregnancy have been identified for the first time by researchers at University College London and the University of Southampton.

16 Mar 2026

Extended monitoring identifies many more severe pregnancy complication cases

Extending the monitoring period for severe pregnancy complications showed more than 40% of cases were missed using traditional delivery-focused monitoring, according to new research published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.251425 that extended monitoring from conception to 6 weeks postpartum.

16 Mar 2026

Fertility treatments linked to small increases in some cancers

Findings indicate small increases in certain cancers linked to assisted reproduction, though overall cancer incidence aligns with the general female population.

13 Mar 2026

Opioids offer limited short-term relief for acute pain

The world's largest review of opioid pain relievers prescribed for acute pain found these medicines provide only small, short-term relief for some acute conditions and are ineffective for some others.

25 Feb 2026

New Orleans brings back the house call, sending nurses to visit newborns and moms

When Lisa Bonfield gave birth to daughter Adele in late November, she was thrust into the new world of parenting, and faced an onslaught of challenges and skills to learn: breastfeeding, diapering, sleep routines, colic, crying, and all the little warning signs that something could be wrong with the baby.

23 Feb 2026

Second pregnancy leaves distinct and lasting changes in the maternal brain

Researchers at Amsterdam UMC have discovered that a second pregnancy alters the female brain. Previous research from the same group had already demonstrated the impact of a first pregnancy on the female brain.

19 Feb 2026

Large Swedish study finds COVID-19 vaccination unrelated to fertility or childbirth rates

A Swedish registry-based cohort study evaluated whether COVID-19 vaccination affected childbirth rates among women aged 18 to 45 years during the pandemic period. No statistically significant association was found between vaccination, childbirth, or recorded miscarriage rates, suggesting demographic and socioeconomic factors likely explain observed fertility trends.

8 Feb 2026

COVID vaccination not linked to reduced childbirth

COVID-19 vaccination is not the cause behind a decrease in childbirth, according to a study from Linköping University, Sweden.

4 Feb 2026

Breastfeeding and pregnancy linked to improved postmenopausal cognition

Female brains have historically evolved to adapt to pregnancy, undergoing structural and functional changes.

3 Feb 2026

If you’re pregnant and uninsured, Medicaid might be your answer

When she noticed an unusual craving for hot dogs, Matte'a Brooks suspected her body was telling her something, so she decided to take a pregnancy test. She took two just to be sure. Both were positive.

3 Feb 2026

Ischemic stroke increases expectant mother's risk for another stroke during or soon after pregnancy

Having had a stroke caused by blocked blood vessels (ischemic stroke) more than doubled an expectant mother's odds of having another stroke during pregnancy and within six weeks of childbirth, according to a preliminary study to be presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2026.

29 Jan 2026