Childbirth (redirected from prepared childbirth)

childbirth: see birth.

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parturition

 or birth or childbirth or labour or delivery

Process of bringing forth a child from the uterus, ending pregnancy. It has three stages. In dilation, uterine contractions lasting about 40 seconds begin 20–30 minutes apart and progress to severe labour pains about every 3 minutes. The opening of the cervix widens as contractions push the fetus. Dilation averages 13–14 hours in first-time mothers, less if a woman has had previous babies. When the cervix dilates fully, expulsion begins. The “water” (amniotic sac) breaks (if it has not already), and the woman may actively push. Expulsion lasts 1–2 hours or less. Normally, the baby's head emerges first; other positions make birth more difficult and risky. In the third stage, the placenta is expelled, usually within 15 minutes. Within six to eight weeks, the mother's reproductive system returns to nearly the prepregnancy state. See also cesarean section; lactation; midwifery; miscarriage; natural childbirth; obstetrics and gynecology; premature birth.

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Childbirth

Childlessness (See BARRENNESS.)

Artemis

(Rom. Diana) goddess of childbirth. [Gk. Myth.: Kravitz, 59]

Asclepius

saved by his father Apollo from the body of pregnant Coronis when Apollo slays her for infidelity. [Gk. Myth.: Benét, 57]

Athena

sprang from the head of Zeus when Hephaestus split it open with an axe. [Gk. Myth.: Benét, 60]

Auge

Arcadian goddess of childbirth. [Arcadian Myth.: Kravitz, 59]

Carmenta

one of Camenae; protectress of women in confinement. [Rom. Rel.: Zimmerman, 50]

Dionysus

unborn god is saved from his dead mother and sewn into Zeus’s thigh, from which he is later born. [Gk. Myth.: Benét, 273]

dittany

symbol of childbirth. [Herb Symbolism: Flora Symbolica, 173]

Egeria

goddess of childbirth; protectress of the unborn. [Rom. Myth.: Avery, 425–426]

Eileithyia

ancient Greek goddess of childbirth. [Gk. Myth.: Zimmerman, 92]

Hera

(Rom. Juno) goddess of childbirth. [Gk. Myth.: Kravitz, 59]

Lilith

demon; dangerous to women in childbirth. [Jew. Trad.: Benét, 586]

Lucina

goddess of childbirth. [Rom. Myth.: Kravitz, 59]

Mater Matuta

goddess of childbirth. [Rorer. Myth.: Howe, 160]

Parca

ancient Greek goddess of childbirth. [Gk. Myth.: Kravitz, 59]

test-tube baby

Louise Brown; first successful fertilization outside the body (1978). [Br. Hist.: Facts (1978), 596–597]

Themis

goddess of childbirth. [Gk. Myth.: Kravitz, 53]