Objective: To validate an intrapartum Cesarean Section Classification System (ICSCS). Design: Nationwide prospective observational study. Setting: Twenty-five Norwegian maternity units Population or Sample: Singleton cephalic pregnancies with spontaneous or induced labour at ≥ 37 weeks gestation delivering February-August 2017. Methods:. After training of all collaborators, Cesarean section (CS) after spontaneous or induced labour were classified based on fetal status, dynamic progress in labour, use of oxytocin, frequency of contractions and linked to denominator data collected and centralized by the Norwegian Medical Birth Registry. Main Outcome Measures: Cohens kappa as measure of agreement for correct application of the classification. Prevalence of the different groups using the ICSCS within the Ten Group Classification System (Robson groups). Results: Of 49 trained experts, 40 (82%) had a κ >0.6 indicating good or very good level of agreement when the classification was applied. A total of 1425 CS were classified: CS classified as fetal indication (no oxytocin) was more common in induced (Group 2a, 4a, 5b) compared to spontaneous labours (Group 1, 3, 5a). CS classified as dystocia related to inefficient uterine action and poor response to oxytocin occurred more often in induced as compared to spontaneous labours. The prevalence of CS classified as dystocia with efficient uterine action (malposition or cephalopelvic disproportion) was low in all Robson groups. Conclusions: The ICSCS was successfully validated in a national study. It may become a valuable objective tool for analyzing the management of labour and explaining differences in the prevalence of CS between different groups of women.

Objective: To explore the duration of the active phase of the second stage of labour in relation to maternal prepregnant body mass index (BMI). Design: Retrospective cohort study. Setting: Labour wards of three Norwegian university hospitals, 2012-2019. Population: Nulliparous and parous women without previous caesarean section with a live singleton foetus in cephalic presentation and spontaneous onset of labour, corresponding to the Ten Group Classification System (TGCS) group 1 and 3. Methods: Women were stratified to BMI groups according to WHO classification, and estimated median duration of the active phase of the second stage of labour was calculated using Kaplan-Meier analyses. We performed stratified analyses in women with and without epidural analgesia and oxytocin augmentation. Finally, we calculated the Hazard Ratio (HR) of delivery using Cox regression analyses. Caesarean sections and operative vaginal deliveries during the active phase were censored. Main Outcome Measures: Estimated median duration of the active phase of second stage of labour. Results: The final study population comprised 23516 women in TGCS group 1 and 27255 in group 3. Increasing BMI was associated with shorter estimated median duration of the active phase in both TGCS groups. The pattern remained when performing stratified analyses for epidural and oxytocin analgesia. The HR for delivery increased significantly with increasing BMI analysed as a continuous variable; HR 1,019 (95%CI 1.016-1.023) in TGCS group 1 and HR 1,017 (95%CI 1.014-1.020) in TGCS group 3. Conclusion: Increasing BMI was associated with shorter estimated median duration of the active second stage Funding: None.