Mechanism and management of normal labour

The purpose of antenatal and intrapartum care is to ensure the birth of a healthy baby to a healthy mother with the minimum of interference compatible with a safe outcome. Complications may arise during the birth process, and it is important to be able to identify and address these at an early stage to prevent the serious sequelae that are still an unfortunate feature of modern obstetrics. To identify deviation from the norm, it is important to have an appreciation of what constitutes normal pregnancy and labour. This article will first discuss the physiological mechanisms of the initiation of labour before turning to the mechanisms and management of normal labour.