# Labour and birth

Care topic · id `maternal:labour-and-birth` · Maternal & Newborn Atlas · release `c7fb95f1d15a7d13` (public)

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Browse, life stage: Childbirth  
Browse, care area: Labour and birth  

## In plain language

Labour is how the body prepares to give birth. It usually begins between 37 and 42 weeks of pregnancy and has three stages. In the first, contractions open the cervix. In the second, the baby is pushed out and born. In the third, the placenta is delivered. Some labours are started with medicines or other methods, which is called induction. Some births happen by caesarean surgery instead. Mothers and babies are watched closely throughout.

## Technical summary

Hub for the labour and birth records in this atlas: the intrapartum care guideline and the Labour Care Guide, induction of labour (two large trials, oxytocin, dinoprostone, a cervical ripening balloon), caesarean birth, epidural pain relief, a companion in labour, eclampsia and its treatment, and the third stage of labour (uterotonics, a bleeding-prevention medicine, a bundle for early detection of bleeding). Sources: the MedlinePlus Childbirth topic and the NIH Labor and Delivery topic, both fetched on 2026-10-14. It links to the shared MedlinePlus identity in core.

## Connected pages

- MedlinePlus health information on this subject: MedlinePlus (`core:medlineplus`)
- Filed under this front: Procedures and birth care (`maternal:front-procedures-and-birth-care`)
- Related to: Caesarean birth (`maternal:caesarean-birth`)
- Recommended for this: Continuous support and a companion in labour (`maternal:continuous-labour-support`) [a claim, not a settled fact; see claim `maternal:claim-who-2018-3-companion` and its context]
- Related to: Epidural pain relief in labour (`maternal:epidural-labour-analgesia`)
- Related to: Induction of labour (`maternal:induction-of-labour`)
- Related to: WHO Labour Care Guide (`maternal:who-labour-care-guide`)
- Related to: Electronic fetal heart-rate monitoring (cardiotocography) (`maternal:electronic-fetal-monitoring`)

## Provenance

Content hash: 01e9a4ceda5f4f808a1aec010cd97ccd79fdd96a09fb4e82a0691410c2227cad
Last substantive edit: 2026-10-14
Evidence last checked: 2026-10-14