Abdominal muscle electrical activity during labor expulsive stage: a cross-sectional study.

Background: During the second stage of labor, the progression of the fetal expulsion depends on many factors related to maternal and fetal parameters, including the voluntary abdominal pushing.

Objectives: This study aimed to correlate the maternal and fetal parameters that may influence the voluntary maternal pushes during the second stage of labor by using surface electromyography.

Methods: The electromyographic activity of the rectus abdominis and external oblique muscles were measured during the second stage of labor in 24 Brazilian pregnant women.