It used to be a widely held belief that the second period of delivery should be as short as possible. This view, however, has now been undermined. Current studies point to the conclusion that patience is a labouring women's and her midwife's biggest ally, especially during second stage of labour. If limits to the length of pushing are established, this should be done on the basis of the condition of mother and child. Second stage of labour should not be limited based on unfounded, authoritative opinion of the attendant.

A longer description of the study is currently available on our site in Polish.