Society guideline links: Labor

Introduction — 

This topic includes links to society and government-sponsored guidelines from selected countries and regions around the world. We will update these links periodically; newer versions of some guidelines may be available on each society's website. Some societies may require users to log in to access their guidelines.

The recommendations in the following guidelines may vary from those that appear in UpToDate topic reviews. Readers who are looking for UpToDate topic reviews should use the UpToDate search box to find the relevant content.

Links to related guidelines are provided separately. (See "Society guideline links: Childbirth" and "Society guideline links: Shoulder dystocia and macrosomia" and "Society guideline links: Fetal surveillance".)

International

●International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO): Ethics and professionalism guideline on decision making about vaginal and caesarean delivery (2020)

●International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology (ISUOG): Practice guidelines on intrapartum ultrasound (2018)

●World Health Organization (WHO): Recommendations on intrapartum care for a positive childbirth experience (2018)

●FIGO: Consensus guidelines on intrapartum fetal monitoring (2015)

●FIGO, International Confederation of Midwives, White Ribbon Alliance (WRA), International Pediatric Association (IPA), WHO: Guidelines on mother-baby friendly birthing facilities (2014)

●WHO: Recommendations for augmentation of labour (2014)

●FIGO: Guidelines for the management of the second stage of labor (2012)

Canada

●Choosing Wisely Canada: Avoid the use of routine episiotomy in spontaneous vaginal births (2019)

●Choosing Wisely Canada: Don't do electronic fetal monitoring for low risk women in labour; use intermittent auscultation (2019)

●Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC): Clinical practice guideline on physiologic basis of pain in labour and delivery – An evidence-based approach to its management (2018)

●SOGC: Management of spontaneous labour at term in healthy women (2016)

United States

●American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG): Practice advisory for oxygen supplementation in the setting of Category II or III fetal heart tracings (2022, reaffirmed 2024)

●ACOG: Committee opinion on planned home birth (2017, reaffirmed 2023)

●American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM): Position statement on hydrotherapy during labor and birth (2014, revised 2022)

●ACNM: Position statement on nitrous oxide for labor and birth analgesia (2009, revised 2022)

●ACOG: Committee opinion on approaches to limit intervention during labor and birth (2019, reaffirmed 2021)

●ACOG: Committee opinion on immersion in water during labor and delivery (2016, reaffirmed 2021)

●ACOG: Practice bulletin on the use of prophylactic antibiotics in labor and delivery (2018)

●American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) and Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology (SOAP): Practice guidelines for obstetric anesthesia (2016)

●ACOG: Practice bulletin on intrapartum fetal heart rate monitoring – Nomenclature, interpretation, and general management principles (2009)

United Kingdom

●Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG): Green-top guideline for the identification and management of maternal sepsis during and following pregnancy, 2nd edition (2024)

●National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE): Guideline on intrapartum care (2023)

●NICE: Guideline on fetal monitoring in labour (2022)

●NICE: Quality standard on intrapartum care – Existing medical conditions and obstetric complications (2020)

●NICE: Guideline on intrapartum care for women with existing medical conditions or obstetric complications and their babies (2019)

●NICE: Quality standard on intrapartum care (2015, updated 2017)

●Royal College of Midwives (RCM): Position statement on doulas (2017)

●RCM: Evidence based guidelines for midwifery-led care in labour – Persistent lateral and posterior fetal positions at the onset of labour (2012)

●RCM: Evidence based guidelines for midwifery-led care in labour – Positions for labour and birth (2012)

Australia–New Zealand

●Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG): Clinical guideline on care in labour in the absence of pregnancy complications, interim update (2024)

●RANZCOG: Clinical guideline on home births (2023)

●RANZCOG: Best practice statement on water immersion during labour and birth (2021)

●National Blood Authority (NBA): Patient blood management guidelines – Module on obstetrics and maternity (2015)

Japan

●[In Japanese] Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology (JSOG): Obstetrics and gynecology clinical practice guidelines – Obstetrics edition (2023)

●[In English] JSOG and Japan Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (JAOG): Guidelines for obstetrical practice in Japan, 2020 edition (published 2023)