Condition
The second stage of labour is the period of time between full cervical
dilatation and birth of the baby, during which the woman has an
involuntary urge to bear down, as a result of expulsive uterine
contractions. 2
Slow progress of second stage of labour can be suspected when birth does
not take place within 2 hours (or 3 hours if regional anaesthesia is
used) for nulliparous women since the start of the active phase and
within 1 hour (or 2 hours if regional anaesthesia is used) for parous
women. 4-5