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Article: Stands up for birth.(Pregnancy & Birth)
- Article from:
- Special Delivery
- Article date:
- March 22, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 Association of Labor Assistants & Childbirth Educators. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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For centuries, women have been active during labor. Upright postures and movement throughout labor are often a woman's natural choice. It is only in recent history that medical practice has resigned women to static, reclined positions in labor. With this approach, slow and painful labors, cases of celphalopelvic disproportion, and fetal distress are common. Although these issues can sometimes have a pathological origin and constitute a real need for medical intervention, they are often resolved quickly with a change in maternal position.
During pregnancy the opening of the uterus, the cervix, is a thick, tightly closed barrier between the delicate in utero ...