Intrapartum ultrasound in women with prolonged first stage of labor

Birgitte Heiberg Kahrs1, Torbjørn Moe Eggebø1

  • 1National Center for Fetal Medicine, Trondheim University Hospital (St. Olav's University Hospital), Trondheim, Norway (Drs Kahrs and Eggebø); Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway (Drs Kahrs and Eggebø).

The first stage of labor is from the start of active labor until the cervix is fully dilatated. To assess labor progress during this stage, a clinical examination has traditionally been done. The cervical dilatation, fetal head position, and fetal head station are evaluated. Moreover, these observations can be made with an ultrasound examination. Studies have shown that traditional clinical examinations are subjective, have poor reproducibility, and are unreliable. Ultrasound examinations of the fetal head station and fetal head position in the first stage of labor might predict labor outcome and mode of delivery and can help in decision making when prolonged first stage of labor is diagnosed.

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