Labor + Delivery - iVillage

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Getting Ready

Trying To Conceive

Am I Pregnant?
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5 years 6-7 years 8-9 years 10-13 years 14-18 years

Real Moms Share Their Amazing and Inspiring Birth Stories

From the mom whose baby arrived before the doctor did to the delivery room shocker where the parents thought they had a son (but really had a daughter... Read More

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Basic Facts About Cesareans

This article explains what a cesarean is and why it might be needed.

See All On Cesarean Section

Induction is the act of causing or bringing on labor. Some women need to be induced because some babies clearly need to enter the world a little sooner than nature intended. But in recent years, induction by choice '- for convenience' sake '- has been on the rise.

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Labor + Emotions

Labor + Delivery

Giving Birth: Letting Go of Control

Labor requires that you yield rather than take control. Taking control of labor is the role of the physician in times of distress or abnormality.

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Labor + Delivery Complications

Labor + Delivery

What Is Dystocia?

"Labor dystocia" is a term a mother may never hear, but it accounts for about two-thirds of all cesarean sections performed today in the United States.

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Labor Stages

Labor + Delivery

Your Labor Guide

Nature has designed birth simply and elegantly. Although every labor and birth is unique, and your labor will unfold in a very special way, the process is remarkably and beautifully constant.

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Delivery Options

Labor + Delivery

The Lamaze Guide to Creating a Birth Plan

Many of the birth plans you may see in books or birth classes are simply checklists of medical procedures you do or don't want. To be truly useful, a birth plan should include much more.

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Medications and Labor Procedures

Article

Procedures Explained

Edipdurals, NPOs, fetal monitoring ... the list of medical procedures that may accompany your labor can seem never-ending -- and overwhelming!

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Labor + Birth Options

Giving Birth

Childbirth Choices Guide: Lamaze Childbirth Preparation

"Lamaze International envisions a world of confident women choosing normal birth."

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Breech Birth

Fetal Development

Breech Baby? What You Need to Know

A breech presenting baby is one who has his head up and bottom down. Breech vaginal birth is safe with a patient doctor with breech experience. The outcome of vaginally delivered babies is excellent.

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Preparing for Labor + Delivery

Pregnancy Tips

Pregnancy: 7 Things You Need to Know Before You Give Birth

Approaching childbirth is akin to stepping toward a mountain range, and what lies ahead is completely new terrain. There is no way around it; it must be traversed somehow. There are choices, but the outcome is out of your control -- and unknown.

See All On Preparing for Labor + Delivery

meet the expert

Nancy Snyderman, M.D. Chief Medical Editor for NBC

See more from Nancy Snyderman, M.D.

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