According to the news report in Times of India, scientists believe that the first stage of labour has increased by 2.6 hours for mothers delivering babies for the first time.

The data also proves that for mother who have had given births previously, the stage has increased by two hours than compared to women who gave birth during 1960s. Moreover, the report also cites that the babies who were born in 1960s were generally born five days earlier on average and tended to weigh more than the babies born in our age and time.

The report also focuses on the body mass index of contemporary pregnant women which hovers around 24.9, before the mother conceives, as compared to 23 of women who conceived in 1960s.

The study which is published by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is seconded by Indian gynaecologists who believe that the BMI of an average Indian woman has increased over the past 50 years or so.

The report also indicates changes in current delivery practises which include use of epidural anaesthesia, which is used to minimise labour and contraction pains.