The erect position of the mother during the first and second stages of labour carries certain theoretical advantages. An attempt was therefore made to find out if it is really advantageous and whether it is practicable. Alternate cases of premigravidae were assigned at random to one of two groups: patients in one group were kept in the erect position and those in the other were kept in bed in the supine or lateral position. The patients in the two groups were very much alike and were therefore comparable. The details of labour in these two groups of patients were then analysed and no significant difference was found between them. However, the erect position has been found to be uncomfortable to the patient and inconvenient to the attendant on at least 15 occasions. From the study of this rather small series of cases, therefore, one observes that (1) the erect postion does not possess any of its theoretical advantages and (2) it is impracticable as long as a bedrest is being used to maintain the position. It is, however, suggested that a further study of a larger series of cases with the use of cardiac or surgical beds may yield more precise information.
Reproduced with permission from the BMJ Publishing Group.

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