Physiology The fetus needs the umbilical cord and placenta for respiration. Within the first minute of life, the newborn infant has to adapt to breathing air. Various stimuli – such as hypoxia, cold air and physical contact – will encourage…
Introduction The death of a baby and the loss of all the potential of a human life can be a devastating event for women, their partners, families and society. The grief and anguish is often life-changing. The human reactions to…
Introduction The term ‘operative birth’ is used to describe both instrumental vaginal delivery (also known as ‘operative vaginal delivery’ or ‘assisted vaginal birth’) and caesarean section. Operative deliveries are usually performed by obstetricians and account for a third or more…
Introduction Across the world, one woman dies every minute of every day from a complication of pregnancy. In high-resource settings, maternal death is rare, but the UK maternal death audit programme (MBRRACE-UK) identifies substandard care in around two-thirds of cases.…
Introduction Labour is defined as the onset of regular uterine activity, cervical effacement and dilatation with descent of the presenting part. The duration of labour is variable and is influenced by factors including parity, gestation or whether the labour was…
Introduction Induction of labour is one of the most common obstetric interventions, occurring in approximately 20% of pregnancies in the United Kingdom. It is indicated in women for whom vaginal birth is planned when the risks of continuing the pregnancy…
Introduction The purpose of monitoring the fetus in labour is to identify those who might be at increased risk of death or hypoxic injury so that delivery can be expedited and harm prevented. Fetal monitoring involves fetal heart rate (FHR)…
Introduction Labour is a challenging time for mothers and their babies. The success of labour and the ability of the fetus to negotiate a journey through the maternal pelvis depends upon the successful interaction of three variables – the ‘power’…
Introduction The natural incidence of twinning has a large geographical variation, ranging from 54 in 1000 in Nigeria, 12 in 1000 in the United Kingdom, to 4 in 1000 in Japan. This difference is almost entirely due to variations in…
Introduction Pre-term birth is defined as birth before 37 weeks’ completed gestation. It occurs in around 10% of births and affects 15 million pregnancies worldwide annually. Almost one-third of pre-term births in the United Kingdom are iatrogenic (following deliberate medical…