Inclusion Criteria:  Pregnant women at term (37-42 weeks of amenorrhea) American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) class 1 or 2 no language barrier, i.e; speaking French, Dutch or English or accompanied by a reliable translator single pregnancy Parity 1 , 2 or 3 cephalic fetal presentation active labor with cervical dilatation less than 5 cm  Exclusion Criteria:  Contraindications to neuraxial anesthesia major pathologies of pregnancy (preeclampsia) decompensated gestational diabetes diabetes type 1 or 2 known serious fetal pathology maternal previous diseases increasing the risk of caesarean section (caesarean section, uterine malformation, scarred uterus, surgery of the uterine cervix) fourth or more deliveries extreme pre-pregnancy BMI (< 18 or > 40)