Caption

Woman in labour. Pregnant woman in a maternity ward being comforted by a nurse during early labour (childbirth). Labour involves painful, rhythmic contractions of the muscular wall of the uterus. These get stronger and more frequent as labour progresses. First the contractions dilate the cervix, the neck of the uterus, before they push the baby out of the body. The woman is suffering from lower back pain due to the weight of the foetus in her abdomen.