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Labour and Birth Resources
Any preparation can help you feel more confident when you go into labour and help your birth go as smoothly as possible.
Every labour and birth is unique and unpredictable, making it difficult to plan. It is common for women to feel some level of anxiety during pregnancy; perhaps about their changing body, the health of their baby or concerns about the birth.
If you have had a caesarean birth, you may be thinking about how to give birth next time. For many years it was assumed that once a woman had a caesarean section, all future babies would be delivered this way. However this is not always true.
In most pregnancies, labour starts naturally between 37 and 42 weeks. When labour starts, a number of changes occur in your body.
Most babies are born without any need for assistance, but there are times when assistance may be required for the safety of mother or baby.
Every woman experiences pain in a different way. The way you experience pain depends on your emotional, psychological, social, motivational and cultural circumstances. Every woman responds and copes differently with the pain of labour and childbirth.
For centuries, birth attendants have listened to the baby’s heartbeat during pregnancy and labour. In the 19th century, a small trumpet-shaped stethoscope was invented that made it possible to listen to the baby’s heartbeat during pregnancy with greater accuracy. This device, named after its inventor Dr Pinard, is still used in many areas of the world.
Breech presentation occurs when your baby is lying bottom first or feet first in the uterus (womb) rather than the usual head first position. In early pregnancy, a breech position is very common.
CERVIDIL® (dinoprostone, 10 mg) is a vaginal insert approved to start and/or continue the ripening of the cervix in pregnant women who are at or near the time of delivery and in whom there is a medical reason for inducing (bringing on) labor.
A caesarean section is an operation in which a baby is born through an incision (cut) made through the mother’s abdomen and the uterus (womb). The cut is usually made low and around the level of the bikini line.
What is umbilical cord blood? Umbilical cord blood is the blood remaining in the umbilical cord and placenta after your baby’s birth. Cord blood is normally thrown away after birth; however, it can be collected at birth and stored for possible use in the future.
It is widely thought that having a baby should be one of the happiest times of your life. However depression and anxiety are common for women during pregnancy and the first year of their child’s life, with as many as one in five women affected.