It is essential that those proving antenatal and intrapartum care understand what constitutes normal labour. This allows complications that can arise at any stage to be recognized early and can help prevent serious sequelae. This review covers the physiology, mechanisms and evidence based management of normal labour.
Tara Selman MRCOG is a Specialist Registrar at Birmingham Women’s Hospital, NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, UK. Conflicts of interest: none declared
Tracey Johnston MRCOG is a Consultant in Fetal Maternal Medicine at Birmingham Women’s Hospital, NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, UK. Conflicts of interest: none declared
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