MODEL RELEASED. Woman in labour. View of a squatting woman during the early stages of labour (childbirth). At upper right is a cardiotocography (CTG) machine which will monitor her foetus' heartbeat during the later stages of childbirth. The machine also records uterine contractions. During this early stage of labour, the neck of the uterus (cervix) dilates to allow the baby out of the body. Squatting is one of several positions which women in early labour may find more comfortable.