As attitudes began to change, some hospitals offered a "rooming in" option wherein after a period of routine hospital procedures and observation, the infant could be allowed to share the mothers room. As of 2020, rooming in has increasingly become standard practice in maternity wards. Cardinal Movements of birth
Humans are bipedal with an erect stance. The erect posture causes the weight of the abdominal contents to thrust on the pelvic floor, a complex structure which must not only support this weight but allow, in women, three channels to pass through it: the urethra, the vagina and the rectum. The infants head and shoulders must go through a specific sequence of maneuvers in order to pass through the ring of the mothers pelvis. Range of motion and ambulation are typically unaffected during labour and it is encouraged that the mother move to help facilitate progression of labour. The vagina is called a birth canal when the baby enters this passage. Six phases of a typical vertex or cephalic (head-first presentation) delivery:

Engagement of the fetal head in the transverse position. The babys head is facing across the pelvis at one or other of the mothers hips. Descent and flexion of the fetal head. The babies head moves down the birthing canal and tucks its chin on its chest so that the back or crown of its head leads the way through the birth canal. Internal rotation. The fetal head rotates 90 degrees to the occipito-anterior position so that the babys face is towards the mothers rectum.
In the US, the definition of active labour was changed from 3 to 4 cm, to 5 cm of cervical dilation for multiparous women, mothers who had given birth previously, and at 6 cm for nulliparous women, those who had not given birth before. This was done in an effort to increase the rates of vaginal delivery.Health care providers may assess a labouring mothers progress in labour by performing a cervical exam to evaluate the cervical dilation, effacement, and station. These factors form the Bishop score. The Bishop score can also be used as a means to predict the success of an induction of labour. During effacement, the cervix becomes incorporated into the lower segment of the uterus. During a contraction, uterine muscles contract causing shortening of the upper segment and drawing upwards of the lower segment, in a gradual expulsive motion. The presenting fetal part then is permitted to descend. Full dilation is reached when the cervix has widened enough to allow passage of the babys head, around 10 cm dilation for a term baby. A standard duration of the latent first stage has not been established and can vary widely from one woman to another.