ABSTRACT
This chapter describes changes undergone by the pregnant woman during pregnancy including gastrointestinal changes, changes in appearance, and disease like conditions. The life of a pregnant woman is to a great extent affected by two factors—hormones and the increasing size of her uterus. The hyperestrogenemic state of the pregnant woman might also be the culprit of vascular spiders and palmar erythema. The chapter explains the three stages of labor and childbirth. These stages are: the dilatation stage, the expulsion stage, and the placental stage. These stages vary in duration, but in general are shorter in the multigravida than they are in the primigravida. The chapter presents the seven cardinal movements of labor. These are: engagement, descent, flexion, internal rotation, extension, external rotation, and expulsion. The chapter also explains the roles of sutures and fontanelles in childbirth. It discusses the following kinds of twins: monozygotic, dizygotic, identical, fraternal, normal, conjoined.
