Does Hydration Shorten the Duration of Labour?

Objectives: To assess the effect of intravenous infused fluid on progress of labour. Patients and Methods: This is a randomized controlled trial conducted at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Benha University and Al-Mahla General Hospital, in which 150 pregnant women in active phase of labour were randomaly allocated into three groups. Group A received 250ml/hour Ringer’s Solution, Group B received 125ml/hour Ringer’s Solution and Group C control group. Patients were followed-up until delivery and all their data were recorded on the partogram. Results: Group A has more uterine contractions than group B group C and this difference was statistically significant. In addition to that, group A showed faster descent of the fetal head than group B group C and this difference was significant statistically. Women in group A showed a longer mean ± SD duration of contraction than that of group B and group C [(38.44±1.7 min.), (36.22±1.1 min.), (35.15±0.07 min.)] respectively. Besides that women in group A had faster rate of cervical dilatation than that of group B and group C [(5.90±0.45 min.), (5.50±0.24 min.) and (4.92±0.46 min.)] respectively. In addition to this, women in group A had a shorter first stage of labour than group B and group C and this difference was statistically significant [(292.50±50.47 min.), (310.33±33.52 min.) and (329.56±43.28 min.)] respectively.Conclusion: Administration of 250ml/hour Ringer’s So-lution enhances labour and makes the first stage of labour shorter, consequently, the duration of labour.