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 pathology, diastasis is the separation of parts of the body that are normally joined, such as the separation of certain abdominal muscles during pregnancy, or of adjacent bones without fracture. See also
Diastasis recti
Diastasis symphysis pubisCompare with:

Diastasis (physiology)


== References ==