Background: Helping the woman to adopt a comfortable position during childbirth significantly affects labor changes and pain management. However, there is a lack of consensus on the impacts of different childbirth positions on labor outcomes. In addition, a scarce of studies have assessed the effects of the upright and recumbent positions on delivery outcomes, especially in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Objective: This study aimed to examine and compare the influence of upright and recumbent childbirth positions on birth outcomes. Methods: The setting was the childbirth unit at East Jeddah Hospital from November 2020 to March 2021. The research design was quasi-experimental, including 300 women in labor under 18-45 years. The sample includes two equal groups of 150 women: upright (experiment) and recumbent (comparison) position groups. Three tools were used to collect data: a structured interviewing questionnaire, the modified WHO partograph, and the Wong-Baker FACES® pain rating scale. Descriptive statistics, chi-square, independent t-test, and paired t-test were used for data analysis. Results: Women in the recumbent position spent a longer duration in the first, second, and third stages of childbirth and had higher pain scores and less satisfaction with the assumed position than women in the upright position, with a highly significant difference (p <0.001). Conclusion: Laboring women in upright positions experienced faster progress of labor, shorter duration of childbirth, less pain, and higher satisfaction than those assumed recumbent positions. This study serves as an input for midwives and nurses to enable them to offer appropriate advice to improve intrapartum care. In addition, educational programs targeting pregnant women about the positive impacts of upright position on women’s birth experience are encouraged.
Background: Water birth has been considered an efficient non-pharmacological modality with numerous maternal and neonatal benefits as well as rare complications. Perception and knowledge about water birth can affect women’s decisions in the future. Few available studies addressed this area in Saudi Arabia. Thus, the current research fills this gap and contributes to further understanding this phenomenon. Objective: This study aimed to assess the perception and knowledge of Saudi women about water birth. Methods: A cross-sectional study was employed among 388 Saudi women conveniently enrolled for the study. An online questionnaire that included four sections: sociodemographic characteristics, obstetrical history, perception, and knowledge of water birth, was used for data collection. Descriptive statistics (frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations) and inferential statistics (Chi-Square, Fisher Exact, and t-tests) were used for data analysis. Results: The participants’ mean age was 34.91 ± 8.851, with 83.2% of them highly educated. The mean number of deliveries was 3.36 ± 2.167, with 60% having no history of abortion. Less than half of the participants (40.2%) preferred to have a water delivery. Of the total participants, 96.4% had a fair knowledge level, and 3.6% had a good knowledge of water delivery. A significant relationship was found between age, educational course, and the knowledge of the participants about water delivery (p <0.05). Conclusion: Most Saudi women had a fair knowledge of water birth; however, they wanted more information on it. It is recommended that midwives and nurses broaden their understanding of water birth and enhance its practice in order to educate and inspire women to make informed decisions about all available childbirth delivery methods, including water birth.
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