Midwifery

Breast milk is the milk produced by the breasts (or mammary glands) of a human female for her baby.

Vaginismus, sometimes called vaginism and genito-pelvic pain disorder, is a condition that affects a woman's ability to engage in vaginal penetration, including sexual intercourse, manual penetration, insertion of tampons or menstrual cups, and the penetration involved in gynecological examinations (pap tests).

The amniotic fluid, commonly called a pregnant woman's water or waters (Latin liquor amnii), is the protective liquid contained by the amniotic sac of a pregnant female.

Family planning, simply put, is the practice of controlling the number of children in a family and the intervals between their births, particularly by means of artificial contraception or voluntary sterilization.

Safe sex is sexual activity engaged in by people who have taken precautions to protect themselves against sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as HIV.

("Sexual disease" redirects here. It is not to be confused with Sexual dysfunction.) Sexually transmitted infections (STI), also referred to as sexually transmitted diseases (STD) and venereal diseases (VD), are infections that are commonly spread by sex, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex and oral sex.

A midwife is a professional in midwifery.

Maternal death is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as "the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management but not from accidental or incidental causes.

Babinden (Bulgarian: Бабинден, Russian: Бабьи каши, Бабий день the Day of the baba or the Day of the midwife) is a traditional Bulgarian feast, celebrated on 8 January (21 January according to the Gregorian calendar), in honour of the women practicing midwifery.

Perinatal mortality (PNM), also perinatal death, refers to the death of a fetus or neonate and is the basis to calculate the perinatal mortality rate.

Prenatal diagnosis and prenatal screening are aspects of prenatal care that focus on detecting anatomic and physiologic problems with the zygote, embryo, or fetus as early as possible, either before gestation even starts (as in preimplantation genetic diagnosis) or as early in gestation as practicable.

Stillbirth is typically defined as fetal death at or after 20 to 28 weeks of pregnancy.

Prenatal or antenatal development is the process in which a human embryo and later fetus (or foetus) develops during pregnancy, from fertilization until birth.

Morning sickness, also called nausea and vomiting of pregnancy (NVP), is a symptom of pregnancy that involves nausea or vomiting.

Doppler fetal monitor or Baby Heartbeat Monitors is a handheld ultrasound baby heartbeat monitor used to hear an embroy or fetus' heartbeat.

Decidua is the term for the uterine lining (endometrium) during a pregnancy, which forms the maternal part of the placenta.

Nutrition and weight management before and during pregnancy has a profound effect on the development of infants.

The amniotic sac, commonly called the bag of waters, sometimes the membranes, is the sac in which the fetus develops in amniotes.

Ovulation is the release of egg from the ovaries.

Sexual dysfunction (or sexual malfunction or sexual disorder) is difficulty experienced by an individual or a couple during any stage of a normal sexual activity, including physical pleasure, desire, preference, arousal or orgasm.

Female sexual arousal disorder (FSAD) is a disorder characterized by a persistent or recurrent inability to attain sexual arousal or to maintain arousal until the completion of a sexual activity.

Obstructed labour, also known as labour dystocia, is when, even though the uterus is contracting normally, the baby does not exit the pelvis during childbirth due to being physically blocked.

A postpartum period or postnatal period is the period beginning immediately after the birth of a child and extending for about six weeks.

A breech birth occurs when a baby is born bottom first instead of head first.

Prolonged labour is when the total duration of childbirth is greater than 24 hours.

Pre-labor, also called "prodromal labor", consists of the early signs before labor starts.

The Ferguson reflex is the name given to the neuroendocrine reflex comprising the self-sustaining cycle of uterine contractions initiated by pressure at the cervix or vaginal walls.

In pregnancy terms, quickening is the moment in pregnancy when the pregnant woman starts to feel or perceive fetal movements in the uterus.

Menstruation, also known as a period or monthly, is the regular discharge of blood and mucosal tissue from the inner lining of the uterus through the vagina.

A shoulder presentation refers to a malpresentation at childbirth where the baby is in a transverse lie (its vertebral column is perpendicular to that of the mother), thus the leading part (the part that enters first the birth canal) is an arm, shoulder, or the trunk.

In obstetrics, a perineal tear is a spontaneous (unintended) laceration of the skin and other soft tissue structures which, in women, separate the vagina from the anus.

In medicine (obstetrics), the term fetal distress refers to the presence of signs in a pregnant woman—before or during childbirth—that suggest that the fetus may not be well.

Women's health in India can be examined in terms of multiple indicators, which vary by geography, socioeconomic standing and culture.

Breastfeeding promotion refers to coordinated activities and policies to promote health among women, newborns and infants through breastfeeding.

A cephalic presentation or head presentation or head-first presentation is a situation at childbirth where the fetus is in a longitudinal lie and the head enters the pelvis first; the most common form of cephalic presentation is the vertex presentation where the occiput is the leading part (the part that first enters the birth canal).

Midwifery in the Middle Ages was important to women's lives and health prior to the professionalization of medicine.

A nuchal cord occurs when the umbilical cord becomes wrapped around the fetal neck 360 degrees.

Unintended pregnancies are pregnancies that are mistimed, unplanned or unwanted at the time of conception.