Live birth
A
live birth of a human being occurs when a
fetus is expelled and separated from the mother's body and subsequently shows some sign of life, such as voluntary movement, heartbeat, or pulsation of the
umbilical cord, for however brief a time. In the absence of such sign, the event is considered a
stillbirth. This definition was created by the
World Health Organization in
1950 and is chiefly used for public health and
statistical purposes. Whether the
birth is vaginal or by
Caesarean section, and whether the baby is ultimately viable, is not relevant to this statistical definition.