Friedman Curve Labor Graph. The first stage of labor is characterized by dilatation of the cervix with descent of the fetal head into the pelvis. The doctor plotted their labours on a graph and calculated the average time it took a woman to dilate each centimetre.
This occurs as a result of impingement of the presenting part on the bony and soft tissues of the pelvis. The graph showed the average rate of cervical dilation was about 1 centimetre per hour. It receives that name by dr.
This graph is known as the friedman s curve used as the gold standard for rates of cervical dilation and fetal descent during active labour for the past 60 years.
So what is this friedman s curve. The friedman curve the gold standard for rates of cervical dilation and fetal descent during active labor was developed almost 50 years ago. To define a modern curve for normal labor these researchers evaluated data on 1329 nulliparous full term women with spontaneous labors and vertex presentations who gave birth to singletons of normal birth weight from 1992 to 1996. The graph showed the average rate of cervical dilation was about 1 centimetre per hour.
