Development and innovation in the management of childbirth over the last ten years has taken place at a rate which is unparalleled. Care during pregnancy has been extended and elaborated to include assessment of fetal well-being with placental function tests and serial ultrasound cephalometry. Early recognition of chromosomal and neural tube abnormalities in the fetus has become possible. Efficient pharmacological control of labor with oxytocin and prostaglandins has increased the scope for induction and augmentation of labor. The increased use of induction has prompted the development of techniques to assess the gestational age and functional maturity of the fetus more accurately than previously.