Continuous focal sampling was used to manually record (pen, paper and stopwatch) sow behaviour during 6 h starting from birth of the first piglet. This was set as the upper limit for duration of parturition. Observations were done by one and the same person who was positioned on the rear end of the farrowing crate facing the back of the sow. During these recordings, sows were not fed and parturition was not interfered with for birth assistance and managerial activities. No medication was used that could affect the process of parturition. For the recordings, an ethogram was compiled based on the objectives of this study and sow postures were taken as main point of interest (Table 1).