Labor Is Not Progressing

Prolonged and rapid labor complications explained

Prolonged and rapid labor complications explained

Understanding labor tempo Labor tempo describes how quickly the cervix dilates, the fetus descends, and birth occurs. A slow labor is not automatically dangerous, and a fast labor is not automatically uncomplicated. The clinical concern is whether progress, maternal condition, and fetal status remain reassuring over time. Prolonged labor is commonly framed as labor dystocia. […]

How stalled labor is managed and when it becomes too long

How stalled labor is managed and when it becomes too long

What stalled labor means clinically Stalled labor means that expected progress has slowed markedly or stopped, but the exact meaning depends on where the patient is in labor. Before active labor, cervical change can be irregular and slow. In the active first stage of labor, the cervix dilates from around 6 cm to full cervical […]

Risks of very long or very fast labor

Risks of very long or very fast labor

Understanding the two extremes of labor duration Labor duration varies widely, and a longer or shorter birth is not, by itself, a diagnosis. Clinicians usually interpret time in the context of parity, gestational age, fetal position, contraction pattern, cervical dilation, descent of the presenting part, ruptured membranes, pain control, maternal vital signs, and fetal heart […]

Causes of slow labor and when dilation stops

Causes of slow labor and when dilation stops

What clinicians mean by slow labor and stopped dilation Slow labor, often called labor dystocia, means that labor is progressing more slowly than expected for the clinical situation. It may involve a prolonged latent phase, slow active labor cervical dilation, arrest of dilation, or a prolonged second stage after full dilation. The term does not […]

Failure to progress and stalled labor explained

Failure to progress and stalled labor explained

What failure to progress means Failure to progress, often abbreviated FTP, describes labor that is not advancing as expected. It may also be called prolonged labor, labor dystocia, arrested labor, or stalled labor. The phrase is most often used when cervical dilation, cervical effacement, fetal descent, or the birth itself does not continue despite contractions […]