Breech
At 28 weeks about 25% of babies rest in a breech position (facing the 'wrong way' in the womb), but all but about 4% right themselves before full term.

If your baby is one of these, the safest birthing option is a Caesarean section because the unorthodox position in which she is lying could subject her to asphyxia or injury.

Cervical incompetence
During pregnancy your cervix should remain "plugged" by mucus, smooth muscle and connective tissue. As the big day draws near, this gradually softens so that it will open during labour.

Incompetence happens when the cervix opens early, affecting about 1% of pregnancies. It's thought to be responsible for a quarter of all second trimester miscarriages, but can only be discovered after the miscarriage has occurred.

The cause is often not known, but incompetence may sometimes follow laser treatment for the removal of cancerous cells, or result from excessive stretching of the muscle during a termination or, rarely, tearing in a previous vaginal birth.

Diastasis
Check for this separation of the vertical tendon that divides the rectus abdominus by lying on your left side, pillows behind your shoulders, and placing your fingers 2,5 to 5cm below your navel.

Lift your head and feel for a ridge – that's diastasis. If you have it, avoid pressing your belly outwards or rotating your torso when doing abdominal exercises.

Dilation
This is when the cervix starts to stretch and open to allow your baby to make her way though the birth canal. This happens only after effacement has occurred in the first phase (the latent phase) of labour.

Effacement is when mild contractions that you may not even notice spread down your uterus, thinning the lower part of the uterus and cervix and drawing them over the head (if that's the direction baby's facing) like a glove.

Epidural anaesthesia
An effective epidural during labour will stop you from feeling pain, but not touch. A combination of local anaesthetics and analgesics alter the conduction of pain impulses from the abdomen, uterus and vagina to the spinal chord.

Febrile seizure
This is a convulsion brought on by a high fever in babies – but it's the rapid rise, rather than the actual temperature, that seems to be the cause.

Watching your child fit in this way can be terrifying, but if yours is one of the 3 to 5% of children affected by febrile seizures, remember that they usually have no serious long-term effects.

Gingivitis
If your gums are red, swollen and tender and bleed when brushed hard, and if you have bad breath to add to your worries, you may have pregnancy gingivitis.

It begins in the second trimester and can be brought on by hormones and increased blood flow, which causes swelling. The main cause of the gum disease, however, is the bacteria and plaque that settle where the teeth meet the gums.

There's no magical way to prevent it, but you heard the oral hygienist – floss, floss, floss! And pay the dentist a visit.

Haemorrhoids
Ok, we don't like to talk about them, but you'll know about it if you have them: you'll be in a lot of discomfort, if not pain.

Haemorrhoids (or piles) are small, bloodfilled swellings that either protrude from the anus or are located just inside. They are the result of dilated veins –increased blood flow to the pelvic area during pregnancy may cause veins to swell.

The effect is increased with hard stools and constipation. Don't suffer in silence: tell your doctor. There is treatment available.

Induction
Sometimes baby finds it's just too warm and cosy inside you to come out into the world, so if you are days past your due date your doctor may decide to artificially start the process of labour.

There's no such thing as a "textbook induction", so the methods used will depend on varying factors. Make sure you are kept informed during the process.

Jaundice
If your baby is affected by jaundice, which is fairly common, you'll see a yellowing of his skin and in the whites of his eyes.

Baby jaundice occurs because, in the womb, baby has more red blood cells than he'll need after birth (the haemoglobin in these cells helps him take in sufficient oxygen from the placenta).

These blood cells need to be broken down after birth. In the process a yellow pigment, bilirubin, is produced and has to be processed by the liver. When the liver function is still immature, bilirubin is often made faster than it can be processed – hence the yellowing of the skin.

Kangaroo care
Kangaroo care has huge advantages for premature and full-term babies alike. It involves holding your baby in an upright position, skin-to-skin, against your chest, and securing her there with a soft cotton binding.

In this way baby is incubated at a constant temperature, still hears your heartbeat and feels protected from the shock of the outside world after nine months in the womb.

Lochia
As you recover physically after birth and your uterus starts to shrink back to its prepregnant state (it doesn't feel like it now, but this will happen!), you'll find you have a bloody discharge called lochia. Use sanitary towels and the flow will calm down after about a week.

Meconium
This thick, sticky substance is present in your baby's digestive system during pregnancy. If the foetus is distressed, some meconium may be expelled from the gut into the amniotic fluid.

If, when your waters break, the amniotic fluid is tinged with green or black (instead of the colour of straw, as it should be), this indicates meconium has been excreted. Contact the hospital immediately – it's a sign that baby needs to be born sooner rather than later.

Nuchal fold translucency scan
This is a test designed to detect Down's syndrome as early as possible in pregnancy. It's performed between 11 and 14 weeks, and is based on an ultrasound measurement of the depth of fluid present under the skin behind the neck of the foetus.

Oxytocin
This is the feel-good "love hormone" and acts, in conjunction with endorphins, to guide the onset of labour and keep contractions going. It flows particularly strongly when you feel safe and secure – something worth pointing out to your partner!

Placenta
The placenta is your baby's life support – a complicated but wonderful piece of biology that acts as a go-between for your two separate but closely linked circulation systems, supplying her with the best of everything via the bloodstream.

It also has a filtering mechanism that acts as a barrier against infection, stopping most harmful substances from getting to your child.

pre-eclampsia
Also called pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) and toxaemia, pre-eclampsia affects about 5 to 8% of pregnant women, usually first-time mums, during the second half of pregnancy.

It's a specific type of hypertension (raised blood pressure). If it's mild, you'll notice a slight swelling of the feet or hands, but your urine will be clear and you'll probably feel quite well.

In a more severe case, protein in your urine will indicate an effect on your kidneys and blood vessels and you may experience headaches, dizziness, blurred vision, irritability, restlessness, drowsiness or even fits. You need to be monitored by your doctor.

Quickening
The fluttering sensation in your abdomen when the tiny life inside you moves around. Many women aren't able to feel the "quickening", as baby is still too small to directly stimulate the nerve endings in the wall of the uterus. Definite foetal movements aren't recognised until about 18 to 20 weeks.

Rhesus
You blood group will be one of four types – A, B, AB or O, the most common. For each of these, you will be either rhesus positive or negative.

This is especially significant during pregnancy because a rhesus-negative mother who’s carrying a rhesus-positive baby can develop antibodies that could hurt baby's blood.

Spina bifida
This is the most common of the neural-tube defects. If the baby's neural tube (which will develop into its brain, spinal cord and vertebral column) doesn't form properly during the first four weeks of development, there will be varying degrees of permanent damage.

Taking folic acid supplements, both before conception and during pregnancy, can help significantly reduce the chances of your child developing this condition.

Show
As dilation begins, the plug of mucus contained in your cervical canal becomes dislodged. The thick discharge that you see when this happens is referred to as "show".

Transition phase
This is the name given to the final phase of the first stage of labour – when the cervix has fully dilated, but you've not yet felt the urge to push.

For some women it's the most difficult part of the whole ordeal – you're already exhausted from the hours of contractions you've experienced, but there's still a mountain to climb. But take heart.

Later, when you see your little one for the first time, you will almost forget it ever happened.

Umbilical cord
This runs between your baby's navel and the centre of the placenta and is made up of three main components: two foetal arteries and the foetal vein.

The arteries carry waste products from baby to the placenta, where they’re transferred into your bloodstream and excreted through the kidneys (clever, clever), and the foetal vein carries blood with oxygen, nutrients and antibodies from the placenta to your baby. It's like a well-oiled machine in there!

Vernix caseosa
This is the thick, white, waxy coating covering the baby's skin and makes her look a bit like a baby alien when she’s born.

Its purpose is to protect her delicate skin from fingernail scratches and prevent it from becoming waterlogged when it's immersed in the amniotic fluid.

Waters breaking
How many times have you heard this referred to in the movies? Your waters breaking simply means the membranes of the amniotic sac have painlessly ruptured because of pressure caused by contractions or the weight of your baby's head.

The amniotic fluid will then escape, as a trickle or as a great rush – either is perfectly normal as long as it happens more or less when you're expecting to deliver. If your waters break before 37 weeks, or is not the colour of straw (see meconium), contact your caregiver immediately.

Zygote
The cell that forms when the head of the sperm fuses with the nucleus of the egg is called the zygote – and it will, before you know it, morph magically into the newest member of your family.