Child Birth

In childbirth there are three stages of labor. During the first the cervix is being drawn up into the main body of the uterus and dilating. The second the baby is pressed down through the birth canal and this stage leads to delivery. During the third the placenta and membranes are sloughed off the lining of uterus and expelled.
Labor starts with the gradual softening and ripening of the cervix at the base of the uterus. This can take days and days or can happen overnight, especially if you have had a baby before. Once the cervix is soft and stretchy the uterine contractions, which occurring anyway in late pregnancy tend to draw it up bit by bit. This is done so that it gradually changes from being a long canal hanging down from the vagina to being a dip in the bottom of the uterus, the tissues having been pulled up into the lower segment of the uterus.
You are not considered to be in labor when all this is happening. Your labor has not started in medical terms until you are...