In plain words
The active phase is the part of labor when things move faster. Contractions are stronger and more regular, and the cervix opens more quickly. It is often defined as starting at about 6 centimeters of . Before that is the early or , which can take many hours and often feels like a slow start. Mothers often hear the term when a provider checks progress or decides whether labor is moving well. A slow start is common, and it is not the same as a stalled labor. The timing of the active phase helps providers decide when more support is needed, such as a change in position or a medicine to strengthen contractions.
The deeper version
The active phase was traditionally set at 4 cm, based on Friedman's mid-century labor curves. The 2014 ACOG and SMFM Obstetric Care Consensus on preventing primary delivery moved the threshold to 6 cm, which lengthened the latent phase counted as normal and redefined failed as at least 24 hours of with ruptured membranes without entry into the active phase. Modern cohort data from the NICHD Consortium (Zhang and colleagues, 2010, Obstetrics and Gynecology) show labor patterns that differ from the older curves, particularly in the early active phase. The controversy is how much of the drop in primary cesarean rates follows from the revised definitions, and reviews disagree on the size of that effect.
Where it comes up
- The stages of labor, plainlyBirth and the First Days
- Induction: why, how, and what to askGetting Ready for Birth
- Early labor at home: when to go inGetting Ready for Birth
- Very fast and very long laborsBirth and the First Days
What mothers here say about active phase
No one has posted under this term yet.
Sources
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine — Obstetric Care Consensus No. 1: Safe Prevention of the Primary Cesarean Delivery (2014)
- Zhang J and colleagues, NICHD Consortium — Contemporary patterns of spontaneous labor with normal neonatal outcomes, Obstetrics and Gynecology (2010)