Our results suggest that the pattern of labor progression in contemporary practice differs significantly from the Friedman curve. The diagnostic criteria for protraction and arrest disorders of labor may be too stringent in nulliparous women.

Anogenital cultures in broth media obtained during the late antenatal period are accurate in predicting group B streptococcal colonization status at delivery in term parturients, and they perform significantly (P < .01) better than cultures collected 6 or more weeks before delivery.

Through the use of multivariate modeling, we determined that chorioamnionitis or endometritis, preterm delivery, group B streptococcal colonization, and a prolonged duration of internal monitoring are independent risk factors for neonatal sepsis. We postulate that the presence of a foreign body that traverses the birth canal may facilitate ascending peripartal infection.