Normal labour occurs when there is a single fetus in the vertex position that is delivered spontaneously through the birth canal at term with no complications for the fetus or mother. Labour is divided into three stages: the first stage from onset of labour until full cervical dilation, the second stage from full dilation until delivery of the fetus, and the third stage from delivery of the fetus until delivery of the placenta. Abnormal labour can occur if the duration of pregnancy is less than 37 weeks or more than 42 weeks, or if the duration of labour is more than 24 hours or less than 3 hours.