A vaginal dilation device is providedthat may include any of a number of features.One feature of the vaginal dilation device is that itis configured to dilate vaginal tissue during laborto prevent tissue damage. Another feature of thevaginal dilation device is that it can be manuallycontrolled to dilate vaginal tissue, or can be automaticallycontrolled to dilate vaginal tissue. Insome embodiments, the vaginal dilation device isconfigured to measure a force applied by the deviceto tissue. In other embodiments, the vaginaldilation device is configured to apply a constantforce to tissue. In other embodiments, the vaginaldilation device is configured to expand at a constantrate. Methods associated with use of the vaginaldilation device are also provided.
