Nulliparous Women in Second-Stage Labor: A Decade of Change

To evaluate recent trends in delivery modes and neonatal outcomes among nulliparous women in second-stage labor, researchers at a single institution retrospectively analyzed obstetric management of singleton gestations (≥36 weeks) in two cohorts a decade apart (2011–2012 vs. 2000–2002). The early and late cohorts included 1023 and 1476 women, respectively. Only women who reached complete cervical dilation were included.

Women in the late cohort were older, delivered at slightly earlier gestational ages, and were more likely to undergo induction and to have hypertension and diabetes. Between the two cohorts, cesarean birth rates increased from 2% to 6%, operative vaginal birth rates decreased from 21% to 10%, and spontaneous vaginal births in…