In preparation for the birth of your baby, your cervix effaces (thins and stretches) and dilates (opens) so your baby can fit through the birth canal. This cervical ripening can begin days or even ...

Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on . Compared with expectant management, inducing labor at 39 weeks’ gestation may be cost-effective for nulliparas ...

Women's Health may earn commission from the links on this page, but we only feature products we believe in. Why Trust Us? You've spent the last nine months prepping for baby—but then your due date ...

When you’re pregnant and get contractions, it means the muscles of your uterus are tightening and releasing. The contractions help widen (dilate) your cervix to help your baby journey through the ...

To compare time to delivery between two induction procedures. The Foley balloon is a mechanical method for cervical ripening. However, the device may also result in endogenous prostaglandin release ...

H.L. is a 25-year-old woman, gravida 2 para 1-0-0-0 admitted to the birth unit at 38 and 6/7 weeks' gestation for induction of labor because of an obstetric history of a previous intrauterine fetal ...

Labor is the process by which the baby and placenta leave the uterus, or womb. This process normally begins on its own around the 40th week of pregnancy. In some cases, however, medical intervention ...

IN obstetric practice, it is acknowledged that a significant number of patients, without apparent cause, repeatedly terminate their pregnancies between the early part of the middle trimester and the ...

The patient is a 36-year-old G3 P0020 at 39 gestational weeks who presented in labor to the hospital where she planned to give birth. She attended prenatal care visits regularly, had a healthy ...