Before labour starts, the neck of the womb (cervix) is long, firm and closed. Even before labour begins, the cervix can be drawn up and gets thinner.  The ‘latent’ phase of labour is the very first part of your labour – the early part of first stage. During the ‘latent’ phase the neck of the womb thins and opens up to about 3 to 4 cm.  The latent phase can last several days or weeks before active labour starts. This is normal. Some women have bouts of contractions lasting a few hours, which then stop and start again later or…

Francis Martin, chair Frances Martin became chair of Wye Valley NHS Trust on 1 April 2026, following previous roles at the Trust as non executive director and deputy chair. Having originally trained as a mental health nurse, Frances has spent the majority of her career working in senior leadership roles in health and social care. With a lifelong commitment to enabling joined up, ‘personalised care’, her professional roles have included working in acute, ambulance, community and primary healthcare in operational, regulatory, commissioning and strategic roles. Two years as sales and operations director in a manufacturing company expanded her knowledge of the…