Condition
The active first stage is a period of time characterized by regular
painful uterine contractions, a substantial degree of cervical
effacement and more rapid cervical dilatation from 5 cm until full
dilatation for first and subsequent labours. 2-3-5 It
is fundamental to reaffirm and reassess that the woman is in active
first stage
The median duration of active first stage is 4 hours
(95th centile is up to 12 hours) in first labour and 3
hours (95th centile is up to 10 hours) in second and
subsequent labours, when the starting point of reference is 5 cm
cervical dilatation. A cervical dilatation rate of less than 0.5 cm to 1
cm per hour during this phase is commonly considered to be slow progress
of labour, with the trigger for intervention stipulated at a variable
period following such deviation. While it is widely acknowledged that
labour tends to be faster among multiparous compared to nulliparous
women, the same criteria often apply for identification of delay in both
groups in clinical practice.2-3-5