A prospective Australian RCT was carried out to determine whether there was any advantage or
disadvantage to giving women the option to ambulate during labour compared with labouring in
the recumbent position.88 [EL = 1+] All women entering the trial (n = 196) underwent continuous
EFM using a scalp electrode. This was carried out via telemetry for women in the ambulant group.
The demographic and obstetric characteristics of the two trial groups were similar. Analysis was
carried out on an intention-to-treat basis. No significant differences were found between the
groups in terms of labour outcomes, mode of giving birth, maternal or neonatal outcome. Only
37 of the 96 women allocated to the ambulant group (39%) actually chose to ambulate for
30 minutes or longer. Of those who did ambulate, the mean time spent in an upright position was
1.5 hours (SD 0.8 hours). During the time of recruitment of women into the trial, 389 declined to
participate, 46% for fear of losing the option to ambulate during labour.