Maternal temperature during labour

Objective The aim of this study was to describe the variation of normal maternal temperature during labour. Design A prospective cohort study. Setting Two hospitals in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Population All women with a live singleton pregnancy and a gestational age of 36 weeks or more admitted to the delivery ward from June 2000 to January 2002. Methods Maternal temperature was measured rectally every 2–3 hours from admission until the beginning of second stage, and 1‐hour postpartum. Normal labour (n = 843) was defined as gestational age ≥37 weeks, spontaneous onset of labour, rupture of membranes 0.05) but increased thereafter. Conclusions At the beginning of labour, temperature was 37.1°C. Temperature increased slowly during labour and was 37.4°C (2SD 1.2) after 22 hours. The upper 2SD limit for normal temperature did not follow a circadian pattern and time of day is not relevant for the classification of normal versus elevated temperature.