Medical Glossary: W

Water Birth

A birth method in which the baby is born under water. Some doctors feel that this is a more natural and comfortable birth for both the mother and baby, because the baby is entering a fluid environment similar to the one it has lived in in utero.

Womb

A hollow muscular organ in the female body in which the fetus develops and from which it is born at the end of pregnancy.

The womb is pear shaped and about three inches long, although it expands greatly during fetal development. It is supported by a hollow neck, the cervix, and two ligaments which connect it to the pelvic wall on each side.

Two fallopian tubes, also known as oviducts, connect the womb to the ovaries and form the passageway for the ovum during fertilization. Also called the uterus.

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