Your labour and birth dictionary

Not quite sure what vernix is? Or where to find your fundus? It turns out there’s a whole world of words related to birth. Knowing them will make you feel a lot more confident and empowered – so read on.

• Active labour: A stage of labour where the cervix has dilated to almost 10cm and contractions are roughly two to five minutes apart.

ALSO SEE: What to expect during the different stages of labour

• Amniotic fluid: The liquid surrounding your baby while she is inside your stomach, made up of (brace yourself) foetal urine and water.
• Apgar: Your baby’s first test, measuring appearance, pulse, grimace (reflexes), activity (muscle tone) and respiration.

ALSO SEE: 12 newborn screening tests your baby will have in hospital

• Braxton Hicks: False labour pains, which may be differentiated from true labour by the lack of regularity. They also tend to disappear with a change in activity.

ALSO SEE: Braxton Hicks contractions explained

• Colostrum: The nutrient-rich fluid produced before you start breastfeeding, possibly as early as the last weeks of pregnancy.
• Contractions: Regular tightening of the uterus as the baby prepares for birth.
• Dilation: The opening of the cervix as your body prepares for labour.
• Eclampsia: A serious condition caused by high blood pressure, which may be life threatening for both mother and baby.

ALSO SEE: Everything you need to know about pre-eclampsia

• Effacement: The thinning of the cervix ahead of labour.
• Epidural: A form of anaesthetic commonly used during labour.

ALSO SEE: What you need to know about epidurals

• Episiotomy: A cut made to the tissue between the rectum and vagina to widen the canal during the birth.
• Failure to progress: Slow labour.
• Foetal distress: A condition that results from complications during birth, for example insufficient oxygen reaching the baby.
• Induced labour: The introduction of hormones through an IV drip, or deliberate rupturing of membranes, to speed labour.
• Labour: Contractions of the uterus during birth.
• Lightening: Also known as engagement, this process readies the baby for its birth as it moves into position. Your friends and family may tell you that “the baby has dropped”.
• Meconium: A green-black, tar-like substance excreted as the baby’s first bowel movement.

ALSO SEE: Baby poo – here’s what’s normal and what’s not

• Pre-term: A baby born before 37 weeks.
• Post-term: A pregnancy which extends beyond 42 weeks.
• Post-partum: The period immediately after birth.
• Ruptured membranes: Also known as “waters breaking”; when the amniotic sac surrounding the baby breaks as a prelude to labour.

ALSO SEE: How to know when your waters break

• Uterus: The organ where the fetus develops. The Fallopian tubes open into the upper end of the uterus, known as the fundus, while the lower part – while the cervix opens into the vagina.
• Vernix: A white, greasy substance covering the baby at birth.