Childbirth

Childbirth, also known as labour and delivery, is when a woman gives birth. This means it is the ending of a pregnancy where one baby or (more) babies leave the uterus by passing through the vagina or by Caesarean section.^[4]

Childbirth
Other names	Labour and delivery, labor and delivery, partus, giving birth, parturition, birth, confinement[1][2]
Newborn baby and mother
Medical specialty	Obstetrics, midwifery
Complications	Obstructed labour, postpartum bleeding, eclampsia, postpartum infection, birth asphyxia, neonatal hypothermia[3]
Types	Vaginal delivery, C-section[4]
Causes	Pregnancy
Prevention	Birth control, abortion
Frequency	135 million (2015)[5]
Deaths	500,000 maternal deaths a year

Birth rate is important in determining the population growth rate. In 2015, there were about 135 million births globally.^[5] About 15 million were born before 37 weeks of gestation,^[6] called a premature birth, while between 3 and 12 percent were born after 42 weeks^[7] as a postterm delivery.

Related pages

• Premature birth
• Postterm birth
• Population growth rate
• Mortality rate