How does the woman who experiences obstructed labour eventually give birth?
Women who experience obstructed labour and who do not receive medical help will often die of exhaustion, dehydration or haemorrhaging from a ruptured uterus. Women who survive the ordeal usually give birth to a still born child. Once the child dies inside the mother the foetus shrinks and the bones soften. This allows the baby to pass out or be pulled from the mother. Occasionally a live baby will be born despite a period of obstructed labour.