: the channel formed by the cervix, vagina, and vulva through which the fetus passes during birth
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the WebHippos are known to have a 12-hour labor, including two to three hours where the calf is in the birth canal, Africa head keeper Wendy Rice told The Enquirer. Victoria Moorwood, The Enquirer, 3 Aug. 2022 Hippos are known to have about a 12-hour labor, Africa head keeper Wendy Rice said, with two to three hours during which the calf is in the birth canal. Terry Demio, The Enquirer, 2 Aug. 2022 Baby opossums, which are born the size of an ant, somehow manage to travel from the birth canal into their mother’s pouch. Elaine Godfrey, The Atlantic, 20 July 2022 Air and other gases can enter the lungs of a stillborn baby multiple ways — as the fetus is squeezed through the birth canal, during resuscitation attempts, during decomposition, even through ordinary handling of the body.Los Angeles Times, 23 June 2022 The act of squeezing through a woman’s birth canal can compress a stillborn baby’s chest cavity and lungs, and once the baby is out of the canal, the lungs expand and can take in air, Davis said. Cory Shaffer, cleveland, 12 June 2022 Given the fetus’ position and the closed condition of the birth canal, researchers have determined the mother did not die in childbirth. Jane Recker, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Jan. 2022 Roman, Shiv, Tom, Greg, Connor, and Willa all roll into the party and through the birth canal. Kevin Sullivan, Robb Report, 29 Nov. 2021 But as the labor continued, the second kitten was in breech position and stuck in the birth canal. Cathy M. Rosenthal, San Antonio Express-News, 21 Oct. 2021 See More
Word History
First Known Use
1884, in the meaning defined above
Medical Definition
birth canal
noun
: the channel formed by the cervix, vagina, and vulva through which the fetus passes during birth