Some women understandably wish from time to time that a baby could be delivered by Fed Ex. After nine months of hormonal changes, carrying extra weight and reduced movement many will want to just get it over. But the race is won at the final leg and Lamaze, Bradley or other options can help carry [...]

For centuries giving birth was strictly an affair between the pregnant woman and a midwife. Though not always present, a mid-wife would frequently aid in the birthing process. The role was often performed by an older woman who had previously experienced birth herself. She gave comfort, medical knowledge based on real experience and a second [...]

It can be difficult to know exactly when labor begins in earnest. But some signs are unmistakable. One such occurs when your new baby’s head exerts pressure on the amniotic sac and it breaks. When your ‘water breaks’ (the liquid isn’t just water, but amniotic fluid), labor is imminent.
Unfortunately, ‘imminent’ doesn’t mean ‘will occur within [...]

Mothers report that few things are as painful, or as rewarding, as giving birth. How much pain, for how long and when varies enormously among individual women. But expectant women, especially when giving birth the first time, may want less pain in order to better enjoy the reward. For them, there are many choices.
Most experts [...]

Expectant mothers, especially those pregnant for the first time, often have doubts about when labor begins and what it feels like. That’s natural. Only experience can inform a woman exactly what it is, and even then one childbirth will vary from another. But being prepared by acquiring guidance can help ease concerns.
False labor is one [...]

Once the first stage of labor is passed, the placental sac has broken, the cervix has dilated and contractions are regular and frequent, the second stage of labor - actual delivery - begins. Of course, there’s no bright line dividing the first from the second. Where one leaves off and the other begins will vary [...]