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OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to examine if patients with “early rupture of membranes (ROM)” after spontaneous onset of labor are at increased risk of cesarean section. STUDY DESIGN: The rate of cesarean section was examined in 447 term singleton nulliparas who were admitted after the spontaneous onset of labor. The cases were divided into 2 groups: (1) “early ROM”, defined as ROM at a cervical dilatation <4cm (n=109); and (2) “late ROM”, ROM at a cervical dilatation ≥4cm (n=338). RESULTS: (1) “Early ROM” occurred in 24.4% of the cases and the overall cesarean section rate was 5.6%; (2) there were no significant differences in the clinical characteristics including prepregnancy BMI, proportion of complicated pregnancies, total duration of labor, proportion of regional anesthesia, gestational age at delivery, and birthweight between the two groups of cases. However gravidas with “early …