Kjaergaard et al defined criteria for dystocia, which is abnormal labor or childbirth. The authors are from Copenhagen University Hospital, University of California Los Angeles and Lund University (Sweden).
Criteria for dystocia - any of the following:
(1) failure of the cervix to dilate 2 cm during the active phase of the first stage (dilatation of < 0.5 cm per hour over 4 hours)
(2) delayed descent during the descending phase of the second stage
(2a) > 3 hours with epidural analgesia
(2b) > 2 hours without epidural
(3) failure to progress for > 1 hour during the expulsion phase
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