A correlational study was conducted to investigate the relationship between me duration of labor stages and the
newborn 's Apgar score in women admitted to Imam Khomeini Hospital (Sari 1994).
A total of 1 20 primigravida women admitted for delivery wert' selected sequentially. The tool was a checklist
consisting of three parts . The first part inquired as to certain demographic information including fertility and labor
characterisucs. The second part checked the duration of each stage of labor, and the third pan covered the Apgar
score measured in tilt first and fifth minutes of birth of the newly born to the primigravida mother.
The validity and reliability of the tool were approved upon estimation of content validity, and reliability
coefficient tests.
The results showed a significant negative relation between the length of la bor stages and the Apgar Score
measured within one and five minutes after the baby’s birth (p< 0. 001). In other words the longer the length of the
stages of labur the lower the Apgar score. There was also a significant correlation between the mother s age and the
length ofstages, thus the older the age, longer were the labor stages and lower was the Apgar score. Another finding
of this study was the significant correlation between meconium stained amniotic flu id and the Apgar score at the
first and fifth minutes of birth (p
significantly correlated. One final finding was the significant correlation between the mode of delivery (spontaneous,
oxytocin indu ction , forceps deli very and vacuum extraction] and the length of labor stages, or the Apgar score
measured at the first and fifth minutes of birth (p <0. 05). Thus the hypothesis of this study was accept ed.
Bas ed on t he f in dings the prospects of implementing recommended measures in midwifery practice were
discussed and suggestions for further research with emphasis on exploration of the causes of prolonged labor and
problems related to it were made.
