A new research study asserts that the second stage of labor (commonly known as the "pushing" stage) can be much longer than current guidelines suggest and still be perfectly normal. The study published in the latest issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology finds that a normal second stage can take as long as 5.6 hours for women with an epidural and as long as 3.3 hours for women without epidurals. The current guidelines define an abnormally long second stage as one longer than 2 hours for those with an epidural and longer than one hour for those without and epidural.It is hoped that the publication of this study will make health professionals and parents feel more comfortable with a longer second stage of labor, and less likely to offer medical interventions unless otherwise warranted.
