Vaginal delivery is the method of childbirth most health experts recommend for women whose babies have reached full term. Compared to other methods of childbirth, such as a cesarean delivery and induced labor, it’s the simplest kind of delivery process. A spontaneous vaginal delivery is a vaginal delivery that happens on its own, without requiring doctors to use tools to help pull the baby out. This occurs after a pregnant woman goes through labor. Labor opens, or dilates, her cervix to at least 10 centimeters.
Labor usually begins with the passing of a woman’s mucous plug. This is a clot of mucous that protects the uterus from bacteria during pregnancy. Soon after, a woman’s water may break. This is also called a rupture of membranes. The water might not break until well after labor is established, even right before delivery. As labor progresses, strong contractions help push the baby into the birth canal.
The length of the labor process varies from woman to woman. Women giving birth for the first time tend to go through labor for 12 to 24 hours, while women who have previously delivered a child may only go through labor for 6 to 8 hours.