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The Amazing Process of Childbirth Worksheet

I. Translate these words into Spanish.

1. cervix ________________________________

2. womb ________________________________

3. thin (v) ________________________________

4. soften (v) ________________________________

5. dilate(v) ________________________________

6. pregnancy ________________________________

7. newborn ________________________________

8. childbirth ________________________________

II. Complete the text with the words or phrases from the table.

PLACENTA NEWBORN NINE-MONTH HORMONE PROGESTERONE

FETUS BRAIN CERVIX PITUITARY WOMB PREGNANT OXYGEN

LUNGS AMNIOTIC HEART

The Amazing Process of Childbirth

THE 1) ______________ wait is finally over, and the baby so longed for is about to be

born. The expectant mothers 2) _____________ has remained firmly shut, keeping the 3)

______________ safely in the 4) _______________. But now her cervix thins, softens, and

relaxes. The miracle of birth begins.

What is behind the marvelous process of childbirth? Of the several factors involved, two

are especially amazing. First, oxytocin, a 5) _______________ produced in the brain, is

released. Both men and women produce this substance, but a great quantity of it is released

in the 6) ________________ mother when labor begins, causing the cervix to dilate and theuterus to contract.

Just how the 7) _______________ gland of the expectant mother knows when to begin

releasing this hormone is a mystery. The bookExploring the Human BodyIncredibleVoyage states: Somehow her8) _______________ senses that gestation is complete and

that it is time for the powerful uterine muscles . . . to take on their brief but heroic job.

7/30/2019 The Amazing Process of Childbirth Worksheet[1]

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A second factor involved in this process is the role of the 9) ________________, which

stops producing 10) _________________. During pregnancy, progesterone has preventedstrong contractions. But now, without the restriction of progesterone, the uterus begins to

contract. Generally after between 8 and 13 hours of labor, the baby is pushed out through

the relaxed, dilated cervix. Afterward, the placenta is also expelled.

Now the 11) ________________ must quickly adapt to new conditions of life, verydifferent from those of its maternal environment. For example, while in the uterus, the 12)

________________ of the fetus were full of13) ___________________ fluid, which was

squeezed out when the infant passed through the birth canal. Now the lungs must be filled

with air to initiate breathing, the onset of which is usually indicated by the first cry. Drasticchanges also occur in the 14) ___________________ and the rest of the circulatory system.

A hole connecting the two atria of the heart and a blood vessel bypassing the pulmonary

circulation close, in order to reroute the blood through the lungs, thus enabling the blood toabsorb 15) ___________________. It is astonishing that this adaptation to the outside

world happens so rapidly.

III. Translate two paragraphs from the text into Spanish.

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