If your contractions come regularly every 5 to 10 minutes, it's time to call your doctor. Watch for signs like your water breaking or bloody vaginal discharge, which indicate labor might be starting.

Sometimes a baby needs a little encouragement to make her big debut. Whether you’re past your due date, your water’s broken but contractions haven’t started, or there’s another medical reason to ...

Delivering a baby is hard work. Aptly named labor, the process before childbirth can be physically and emotionally taxing — and even painful. While no two patients experience labor and delivery ...

PIEZO1 transcripts in human uterine muscle at term. Green indicates smooth muscle fibers in the uterus, red marks PIEZO1 mRNA, and blue shows cell nuclei. LA JOLLA, CA—When labor begins, the uterus ...

Dilation and effacement are your body's way of getting ready for labor – your cervix gradually opens (dilates) and thins out (effaces) to help your baby make that grand entrance. This process can ...

You're a first-time expectant mom and you're settling into bed after a long, exhausting day of well, being pregnant, when suddenly, you feel it: that tightening in your lower belly, that upside down ...

Childbirth depends not just on hormones, but on the uterus’s ability to sense physical force. Scientists found that pressure and stretch sensors in uterine muscles and surrounding nerves work together ...

When labor begins, the uterus must coordinate rhythmic, well-timed contractions to deliver the baby safely. While hormones such as progesterone and oxytocin are key contributors to that process, ...

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Local news co-anchor Olivia Jaquith went ahead with a three-hour morning newscast even after her labor contractions began and her water broke, keeping viewers updated about the coming ...