Childbirth - online puzzles

Childbirth, also known as labour and delivery, is the ending of a pregnancy by one or more babies leaving a woman 's uterus by vaginal passage or C-section. In 2015, there were about 135 million births globally. About 15 million were born before 37 weeks of gestation, while between 3 and 12% were born after 42 weeks. In the developed world most deliveries occur in hospital, while in the developing world most births take place at home with the support of a traditional birth attendant.

The most common way of childbirth is a vaginal delivery. It involves three stages of labour: the shortening and opening of the cervix, descent and birth of the baby, and the delivery of the placenta. The first stage typically lasts twelve to nineteen hours, the second stage twenty minutes to two hours, and the third stage five to thirty minutes. The first stage begins with crampy abdominal or back pains that last around half a minute and occur every ten to thirty minutes. The crampy pains become stronger and closer together over time. During the second stage pushing with contractions may occur.