Labor

{la’-bor) [L., work]. Parturition; the bringing forth of young. L., Artificial, that effected or aided by other means than the forces of the maternal organism. L., Dry, that in which there is a deficiency of the liquor amnii, or in which there has been a premature rupture of the bag of waters. L., Induced, labor brought on by artificial means. L., Instrumental, one requiring instrumental means to extract the child. L., Mi ed, retention of the dead fetus in utero beyond the period of normal gestation. L., Premature, labor taking place before the normal period of gestation, but when the fetus is viable. L., Stages of, arbitrary divisions of the period of labor, — the first begins with dilatation of the os, and ends with complete dilatation; the second ends with the expulsion of the child; the third {placental} consists in the expulsion of the placenta. L., Mechanism of, the mechanism by which a fetus and its appendages traverse the birth canal and are expelled. L. -pains, the pains consequent upon the contractions of the uterus during labor. L., Precipitate, labor in which the expulsion of the fetus and its appendages takes place with undue celerity. L., Protracted, labor prolonged beyond the usual limit (io— 20 hours in primi parse, 2-6 hours in multiparas). 351