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Unexplained Differences in First Stage Labor Duration in Primiparas at North American and European Hospitals
Author(s) -
Thomson Molly
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
birth
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.233
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1523-536X
pISSN - 0730-7659
DOI - 10.1111/j.1523-536x.1988.tb01111.x
Subject(s) - duration (music) , medicine , third stage , stage (stratigraphy) , demography , obstetrics , geography , sociology , biology , art , training (meteorology) , paleontology , literature , meteorology
Data were reviewed on first stage labor duration, as measured from onset of contractions or from hospital admission, in primiparas at three North American and three European hospitals in the past decade. Median durations were found to be over an hour longer in the North American hospitals where labor stimulation with oxytocic drugs appeared to be more frequent. It is concluded that shorter durations at the European hospitals must be attributed to factors other than the “active management of labor” with oxytocic drugs.