It Took Over To Give Birth Now Than 50 years

Women in the XXI century takes about two and a half hours to give birth than mothers of the 60, according to a survey published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology. The extra time is used in the initial phase of delivery, at which occurs a cervical dilation.

The researchers, from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) U.S., compared data from nearly 140,000 births that occurred spontaneously in two distinct intervals: the first between 1959 and 1966 and the second between 2002 and 2008. Although there are clear reasons for the delay, the scientists suggest that changes in medical practices could be among the causes. Currently have increased both the number of cesarean deliveries as those in which oxytocin was given. Furthermore, half of the current interventions are provided epidural anesthesia, a procedure that can increase the delivery time from 40 to 90 minutes, compared with 4 percent in 50 years ago.


Furthermore, also changed the characteristics of the current mothers, who are on average about four years older than the 60. "The older mothers tend to take longer to give birth to girls," says Katherine Laughon, an author of the study. "However, this does not completely explain the differences," he adds.

On the other hand, the last interval studied children born five days earlier on average, and they and their mothers weigh more. The mean BMI of modern mothers in the study was 24.9, a figure very close to 25 indicates obesity. Being overweight is a risk factor that can cause problems during childbirth for both mothers and babies, and doctors advise women who suffer from obesity consult your doctor before becoming pregnant.