Association of labour duration in spontaneous deliveries with low neonatal Apgar scores and foetal acidosis: the Japan Environment and Children’s Study

This study evaluated the association between labour duration (LD) and incidence of low neonatal Apgar scores and foetal acidosis. Data of 37,682 women with full-term singleton spontaneous vaginal deliveries from the Japan Environment and Children’s Study were analysed. Women were classified according to the median LD as nulliparous (< 10 or ≥ 10 h) or multiparous (< 5 or ≥ 5 h) and further into five subcategories: nulliparous (< 10.0, 10.0–12.9, 13.0–15.9, 16.0–18.9, and ≥ 19 h) and multiparous (< 5.0, 5.0–7.9, 8.0–10.9, 11.0–13.9, and ≥ 14.0 h). Multiple logistic regression models were used to determine odds ratios (ORs) for outcomes in women with over-median LD. Over-median LD exhibited no statistically significant association with low neonatal Apgar scores. The adjusted ORs for both umbilical artery (UmA-pH) < 7.2 and < 7.1 were increased in nulliparous women with over-median LD, whereas only the adjusted OR for UmA-pH < 7.2 was increased in multiparous women with over-median LD. Moreover, this association manifested as a plateau in nulliparous women with LD ≥ 13 h and without dose-dependent association in multiparous women.