The Proactive Support of Labor Study

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT03056313

Acronym

PAF

Enrollment

347

Registered

2017-02-17

Start date

2017-02-15

Completion date

2021-05-31

Last updated

2022-04-07

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Obstetric Labor Complications

Keywords

Delivery, Obstetric, Uterine Contraction, Cervix Uteri

Brief summary

The duration of labor is decisive for maternal and fetal health. Poor progression often results in tired mothers, bad experience, delivery complications and a demand for cesarean section in next pregnancy. Proactive support of labor is a method originally from the Netherlands. The main idea is to define start of active labor earlier than the traditional 3-4 cm opening of the cervix and regular contractions to be cervix \< 0.5 cm in length, and 1 cm opening and painful contractions. From this point, it is expected to be a progress of 1cm/hour opening of cervix. If not, progress is supported by amniotomy or stimulation of contractions. This method is embraced by several clinics with great enthusiasm. However, there are no randomized controlled trials to prove that this method is better than others.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALProactive support of labor

In case of delayed labor, active labor is defined at an earlier stage; labor support is given with 1 cm opening of the cervix and painful contractions. Labor support interventions are started then.

BEHAVIORALsupport of labor as usual

In case of delayed labor, active labor start is defined as usual at 3-4 cm opening of the cervix and regular contractions. Labor support interventions are started then.

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Masking

NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

FEMALE

Age

18 Years to 45 Years

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* spontaneous start of labor * nulliparous * term pregnancy * cephalic presentation

Exclusion criteria

* twins * breech presentation * given birth earlier * known uterine anomaly * insulin treated diabetes * preeclampsia * other serious medical conditions in mother or fetus

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
number of pathological deliveries	2 days	number non-normal deliveries
maternal satisfaction with deliver	1 week	validated Childbirth Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) (Anna Dencker 2010)

Countries

Norway

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 27, 2026