TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - Progress of Labor and Delivery A1 - Coleman, Christina M. A1 - Flood, Pamela A2 - Santos, Alan C. A2 - Epstein, Jonathan N. A2 - Chaudhuri, Kallol Y1 - 2015 N1 - T2 - Obstetric Anesthesia AB - Labor is defined as repeated uterine contractions that result in the dilation and effacement of the uterine cervix causing the fetus to be expelled. The mechanisms that initiate labor are not completely known. However, it is clear that preparation for labor begins long before with changes in the cervix that include ingrowth of C-type pain fibers1,2 and infiltration of inflammatory cells, including neutrophils and macrophages.3 These inflammatory cells release cytokines that result in softening of the cervix in preparation for labor. SN - PB - McGraw-Hill Education CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/04/19 UR - accessanesthesiology.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1108522328 ER -