Normal Labor & Delivery
Penny Wilson, MD, and Heidi James, MD
- Labor involves
- Regular painful contractions, which cause
- Progressive effacement and dilatation of the cervix
- Labor is divided into 3 stages:
- First stage
- Latent phase: 0 cm to 3 cm, may be very slow
- Active phase: 4 cm to 10 cm, much quicker (~1 cm/h)
- Second stage
- 10 cm to delivery of newborn
- Third stage
- Ends with delivery of placenta
- Delayed cord clamping and active management with oxytocin is recommended
- Monitoring during labor includes
- Maternal vital signs
- Fetal heart rate
- Progress of cervical dilatation
