Analgesics - Drugs that help relieve pain without causing unconsciousness.

Amniotic fluid - Fluid surrounding the baby. There is approximately a quart of fluid at full term. About one third of this fluid is continuously replenished every hour.

Braxton-Hicks contractions - Usually painless uterine contractions present from the earliest days of pregnancy that the mother may feel from about the fifth month on.
They occur more frequently and become greater in intensity as the mother gets closer to the start of true labor.

Colostrum - The first secretions of the breast. Colostrum has high protein content and provides some immunity properties.

Contractions - The rhythmic tightening and relaxation of the uterine muscles that results in effacement and dilation of the cervix and the delivery of the baby. True labor contractions usually come in a regular pattern, gradually get closer together and gradually increase in intensity. The frequency of contractions is measured from the beginning of one contraction to the beginning of the next contraction.

Cervix - The lowest portion of the uterus that thins out and opens during labor for the delivery of the baby.

Dilation - The opening up of the cervix for delivery of the baby. Measured in centimeters from 0 - 10.

Doula - A professional labor support person or postpartum helper.

Effacement - The thinning and shortening of the cervix. Measured in percentages from 0 - 100%.

Engorgement - Excessive fullness - usually referring to the breasts.

Episiotomy - A small incision of the perineum made to enlarge the vaginal opening. If an episiotomy is necessary, it is done just before the birth of the baby.

False labor - Regular or irregular contractions of the uterus with no changes in the cervix.

Fetal Heart Tones (FHT) - The baby's heart beat heard through the abdominal wall.

Lamaze - A registered name for a program that teaches childbirth education classes.

Lightening - The sensation the mother feels when the baby "drops" down or gradually settles into the pelvis.

Midwife - A professional trained in the management of normal labor and birth.

Induction - The process of starting labor by artificial means.

Preterm labor - Labor starting before thirty seven weeks gestation.

Rh factor - An additional blood factor found in the red blood cells. When it is absent, the person is said to be Rh negative.

Rooming-in - The baby spends all or part of the day or night in the mother's room.