Cervical contractions: the response of the cervix to oxytocic stimulation in the latent phase of labour

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Abstract
Objective To assess the cervical response to myometrial activity in early labour. Design Prospective observational study. Subjects Women requiring oxytocin stimulation in induced and spontaneous labours. Setting A teaching hospital in Birmingham. Main outcome measures Simultaneous comparison of the cervical response to myometrial contractions was made on a cycle by cycle basis to deduce the properties of the cervix in early labour. Results Sixty‐seven patients have been monitored, of whom 63 had satisfactory cervimetry data. Thirty (47.6%) women exhibited cervical contractions in response to myometrial activity. This response was only observed at dilatations up to 4 cm. The change in behaviour coincides with the transition from latent to active phases of dilatation. The length of the latent phase of labour was significantly longer in those women who exhibited cervical contractions (P0.1). The group without cervical contractions exhibited a greater degree of efface‐ment (P<0.05) and tended to have more dilated cervices (P<0.01) than those who showed cervical contractions. Conclusions It is possible for the cervix to contract in early labour. This response may be the result of incomplete preparation of the cervix for the process of dilatation, and is seen during what is recognised as the latent phase in those women in whom the cervix is uneffaced and undilated. These properties of the cervix may explain the poor results obtained from oxytocin stimulation of labour in the latent phase.

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