Normal Delivery

Vaginal delivery is the most common mode of childbirth. It involves three labor-stages: the shortening and opening of the cervix, the baby's descent and birth, and placenta delivery. Normal childbirth includes, in the broadest definition, labor which begins spontaneously, usually between 37 and 42 weeks of pregnancy. Normal birth also includes post-delivery skin-to-skin holding and breastfeeding within the first hour after delivery.