1.3  Stages of labour

In this section, you will learn some basic introductory information about the stages of labour and birth. Each stage will be discussed in more detail in subsequent study sessions in this Module. Labour is traditionally divided into four stages:

• The first stage of labour (the cervical opening stage)
• The second stage of labour (the pushing stage, ending in the birth of the baby)
• The third stage of labour (the birth of the placenta)
• The fourth stage of labour (the first 4 hours after birth).