Anomalies of labor

Anomalies of labor activity, unfortunately, are quite often: up to 10-12% of all births. These are violations in the preliminar period, that is, with the very first rare and weak painful spasms in the lower abdomen and in the lower back (without the involvement of the uterus muscles); too weak or excessively rough labor activity or complete lack of coordination.

Circular uterine dystopia (contracture ring)

Circular dystopia of the uterus (contraction ring) is a pathology that is caused by contractions of a section of circular muscle fibers at various levels of the uterus (except for the cervix).

Lower uterine hypertonicity (reverse gradient)

Hypertonicity of the lower uterine segment, or reverse gradient, is a pathological condition in which a wave of contraction begins in the lower uterine segment and spreads upward with decreasing strength and duration, and the lower segment contracts more strongly than the body and fundus of the uterus.

Dyscoordinated labor

Discoordination of labor is understood as the absence of coordinated contractions between different parts of the uterus: the right and left halves, the upper (fundus, body) and lower parts of the uterus, between all parts of the uterus.

Excessively strong labor (uterine overactivity)

Excessively strong labor activity (uterine hyperactivity) is a form of labor anomaly that manifests itself in excessively strong contractions (more than 50 mm Hg) or rapid alternation of contractions (more than 5 contractions in 10 minutes) and increased uterine tone (more than 12 mm Hg).

Stopping the descent of the fetus anteriorly

As is known, the most significant descent of the presenting part of the fetus occurs at the end of the first and especially in the second stage of labor. Therefore, the impossibility of further advancement of the fetus, the stop or slowing of descent are typical disorders of the second stage of labor.

Delayed descent of the fetus anteriorly

Slow descent is an abnormally slow rate of descent of the presenting part of the fetus. The definition of this condition varies depending on the number of births a woman has had; in primiparous women, the presence of such an anomaly is indicated by a maximum slope on the descent curve of the presenting part of the fetus equal to 1 cm/h or less.

Rapid labor

For the rate of descent of the presenting part of the fetus, these limits are 6.4 and 14.0 cm, respectively. Therefore, for practical purposes, it should be considered that rapid labor (not to be confused with rapid birth) is characterized by the rate of dilation of the cervix and descent of the presenting part of the fetus exceeding 5 cm/h in primiparous women and 10 cm/h in multiparous women.

Types of labor anomalies

For the successful development of scientific and practical obstetrics, it is of fundamental importance to clarify the causes of abnormalities in labor and the most justified pathogenetic treatment.

Weakness of labor (hypoactivity, or uterine inertia)

Weakness of labor is a condition in which the intensity, duration and frequency of contractions are insufficient, and therefore the smoothing of the cervix, opening of the cervical canal and the advancement of the fetus, if it corresponds to the size of the pelvis, proceeds at a slow pace.

Weakness of exertion

Primary weakness of pushing is observed with weakness of the abdominal muscles in women who have given birth to many children with excessively stretched and relaxed abdominal muscles, with infantilism, obesity, as well as with defects of the abdominal wall in the form of hernias of the white line of the abdomen, umbilical and inguinal hernias, with myasthenia, with spinal injuries.