Episiotomy is the procedure of enlarging the vaginal opening to accomodate the birth of the baby. With an episiotomy, a doctor or midwife cuts the perineum as the fetal head is about to be born. The perineum is the tissue…
Category: The Human Labor Process
Pain Relief in Labor
Only in some very rare individuals is labor not associated with considerable pain. The pain that most women experience during childbirth has been written and talked about for centuries. It makes quite an impression on almost all women. Most women…
The Progress of Normal Labor
What is “normal labor”? That’s a tough question. The answer probably lies within the answer to another question, “What is a normal human being?” In an effort to define normal labor, an overly simplistic model has emerged. The model is…
The Course of Labor
Midwives and doctors commonly divide labor into 2 phases, Latent Phase (also known as, early labor) and Active Phase. This is a gross oversimplification of the entire process. This model which largely negates the preparatory process (described above) as a…
The Body Prepares for Labor
Days and weeks before you go into labor, your body is preparing the uterus and cervix for the process. One way to think of this is that the uterus needs to be awakened from its 10-month slumber. It is this…