Factors that affect delivery
Research type
Research Study
Full title
In nulliparous women, who begin labour, what are the factors that determine mode of delivery
IRAS ID
241543
Contact name
Caroline Fox
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Birmingham
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
RG_18-006, Sponsorship number
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 6 months, 1 days
Research summary
Over the past few decades there has been an acknowledgment that medical interventions in maternity care have increased, without necessarily improving outcomes for baby. There is now an increased focus therefore on women-centred approaches to try to change this, particularly to prevent unnecessary first and therefore further caesarean sections. This is causing maternity services to rethink their approach to care and challenge long held beliefs. One such belief is that women are more likely to achieve a normal birth if they stay upright throughout labour and delivery. However, a recent high quality trial investigating if mother’s in their first labour with an epidural whether lying down or staying upright in the pushing stage of labour resulted in the highest number of normal births. In contrast, and perhaps more surprisingly,this quality of evidence is not available in relation to the women in their first labour without an epidural. As these women are the majority, approximately 70% of first time mothers give birth without an epidural, this information is of paramount importance. As is a greater understanding of some of the dynamic factors related to labour such as the rate they progress in labour. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of both baseline and factors that change in labour, specifically how fast the labour progresses and what position the mother is in during labour and how she delivers. This will serve to better inform counselling of women and their families as well as to provide pilot data for a potential future trial
REC name
London - Hampstead Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/LO/0936
Date of REC Opinion
22 May 2018
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion