In active labor, contractions typically occur how often and for how long?

• A. 3-5 minutes apart, lasting 1 minute
• B. 8-12 minutes apart, lasting 3 minutes
• C. 1-2 minutes apart, lasting 30 seconds
• D. 6-10 minutes apart, lasting 2 minutes

Answer: (A)

Contractions in active labor grow more regular, stronger, and closer together as the cervix opens. The typical rhythm is about every three to five minutes, with each contraction lasting roughly a minute. This pace shows steady progress and helps guide decisions about monitoring and when to seek care. Patterns that are much longer between contractions or much shorter and shorter in duration don’t match active labor: for example, long gaps like eight to twelve minutes with very long contractions aren’t driving progress quickly enough, contractions that come every one to two minutes but last only about thirty seconds aren’t giving enough duration to advance dilation, and contractions that are six to ten minutes apart with two-minute duration are too infrequent for this stage.