Women taking longer over labour than their grandmothers The difference was two hours for those who already had at least one child, the report found. The study was carried out at the National Institute of Child Health in Maryland, US, but the results can be translated to British women. It showed modern mothers weighed more before and during pregnancy than their 1960s counterparts, and were on average around four years older. More than half of the contemporary women had epidurals, compared with just four per cent of the earlier deliveries. The procedure is understood to prolong labour by between 40 and 90 minutes. Caesarean sections now account for nearly a quarter of all British births, twice as many as 30 years ago. Katherine Laughon, the researcher writing in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, confirmed she could not fully explain the results. She told a news conference: "Older maternal age and increased BMI accounted for a part of the increase. We believe that some aspects of delivery-room practice are also responsible for this increase. Patrick O'Brien, spokesman for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, told the Daily Mail the increased labour time did not seem to be harmful. He added today's babies appear slightly healthier when they are born and that the study showed a large fall in forceps deliveries.