Childbirth - Non-medical pain control

Childbirth (also called labour, birth, partus or parturition) is the culmination of a human pregnancy with the emergence of a newborn infant from its mother's uterus. A woman is considered to be in labour when she begins experiencing regular, strong uterine contractions, accompanied by changes of her cervix — primarily effacement and dilation. While childbirth is widely experienced as painful, some women do report painless labours. When the baby is born its birth weight is determined.

Including:

• Childbirth - The normal birth
• Childbirth - First stage: contractions
• Childbirth - Second stage
• Childbirth - Third stage: placenta
• Childbirth - After the birth
• Childbirth - Variations
• Childbirth - Pain
• Childbirth - Non-medical pain control
• Childbirth - Medical pain control
• Childbirth - Complications and Risks of Birth
• Childbirth - Professions associated with childbirth
• Childbirth - Social aspects
• Childbirth - Legal aspects
• Childbirth - Psychological aspects

Read more here: » Childbirth: Encyclopedia - Childbirth

Childbirth - First stage: contractions. A typical human childbirth will begin with the onset of contractions of the uterus. The frequency and duration of these contractions varies with the individual. The onset of labour may be sudden or gradual. A gradual onset with slow cervical change towards 3 cm (just over 1 inch) dilation is referred to as the "latent phase". A woman is said to be in "active labour" when contractions have become regular in frequency (3-4 in 10 minutes) and about 60 seconds in duration. The ...

See also:

Childbirth, Childbirth - The normal birth, Childbirth - First stage: contractions, Childbirth - Second stage, Childbirth - Third stage: placenta, Childbirth - After the birth, Childbirth - Variations, Childbirth - Pain, Childbirth - Non-medical pain control, Childbirth - Medical pain control, Childbirth - Complications and Risks of Birth, Childbirth - Professions associated with childbirth, Childbirth - Social aspects, Childbirth - Legal aspects, Childbirth - Psychological aspects

Read more here: » Childbirth: Encyclopedia II - Childbirth - The normal birth

In some cultures, childbirth is considered to be the beginning of a person's life, and a person's age is defined relative to it. Many families view the placenta as a special part of birth, since it has been the child's life support for so many months. Many parents like to see and touch this mysterious organ. In some cultures, parents plant a tree along with the placenta on the child's first birthday. The placenta may be eaten by the ...

See also:

Childbirth, Childbirth - The normal birth, Childbirth - First stage: contractions, Childbirth - Second stage, Childbirth - Third stage: placenta, Childbirth - After the birth, Childbirth - Variations, Childbirth - Pain, Childbirth - Non-medical pain control, Childbirth - Medical pain control, Childbirth - Complications and Risks of Birth, Childbirth - Professions associated with childbirth, Childbirth - Social aspects, Childbirth - Legal aspects, Childbirth - Psychological aspects

Read more here: » Childbirth: Encyclopedia II - Childbirth - Social aspects

Problems that occur during childbirth are called complications. They can affect the mother or the baby. Sometimes they cause injury or even death. Doctors and midwives are trained to deal with these problems should they occur. Infant deaths (neonatal deaths from birth to 28 days, or perinatal deaths if including fetal deaths at 28 weeks gestation and later) are around 1% in modernized countries. The risk of maternal death during childbirth in developed nations is comparatively low; only about 1 in 1800 mothers die in chi ...

See also:

Childbirth, Childbirth - The normal birth, Childbirth - First stage: contractions, Childbirth - Second stage, Childbirth - Third stage: placenta, Childbirth - After the birth, Childbirth - Variations, Childbirth - Pain, Childbirth - Non-medical pain control, Childbirth - Medical pain control, Childbirth - Complications and Risks of Birth, Childbirth - Professions associated with childbirth, Childbirth - Social aspects, Childbirth - Legal aspects, Childbirth - Psychological aspects

Read more here: » Childbirth: Encyclopedia II - Childbirth - Complications and Risks of Birth

The amounts of pain experienced by women during childbirth vary. For some women, the perceived pain is intense and agonizing; for other women there is little to no perceived pain. Many factors affect pain perception, including cultural ideas of childbirth, fear, number of previous births, fetal presentation, birthing position, and a woman's natural pain threshold. Uterine contractions are always intense during childbirth, but a woman may or may not experience them as pain. Some women sleep through much of the labor. Rarely, mothers experience very pleasurable sensations and muscular contraction ...

See also:

Childbirth, Childbirth - The normal birth, Childbirth - First stage: contractions, Childbirth - Second stage, Childbirth - Third stage: placenta, Childbirth - After the birth, Childbirth - Variations, Childbirth - Pain, Childbirth - Non-medical pain control, Childbirth - Medical pain control, Childbirth - Complications and Risks of Birth, Childbirth - Professions associated with childbirth, Childbirth - Social aspects, Childbirth - Legal aspects, Childbirth - Psychological aspects

Read more here: » Childbirth: Encyclopedia II - Childbirth - Pain

Midwives are experts in normal birth. Midwives believe that childbirth is a normal process that is best accomplished with as little interference as possible. Midwives are trained to assist at births, either through direct-entry or nurse-midwifery programs. Lay midwives typically train in apprenticeship programs with experienced midwives. Obstetricians are experts in dealing with normal births as well as abnormal births and pathological labour conditions. Obstetricians in most countries are also trained as surgeons, so they can underta ...

See also:

Childbirth, Childbirth - The normal birth, Childbirth - First stage: contractions, Childbirth - Second stage, Childbirth - Third stage: placenta, Childbirth - After the birth, Childbirth - Variations, Childbirth - Pain, Childbirth - Non-medical pain control, Childbirth - Medical pain control, Childbirth - Complications and Risks of Birth, Childbirth - Professions associated with childbirth, Childbirth - Social aspects, Childbirth - Legal aspects, Childbirth - Psychological aspects

Read more here: » Childbirth: Encyclopedia II - Childbirth - Professions associated with childbirth