Abnormalities of the first and second stages of labor.

Abnormalities of the first and second stages of labor refer for the most part to abnormal progression of labor. This article discusses the risk factors, diagnoses, management options, and outcomes of the various categories of labor abnormalities, and provides an evidence-based approach where one exists. The article concentrates on the term, healthy woman carrying a singleton, vertex, normally grown fetus with no anomalies.