Delivery is considered as one of the most painful experiences of women's life. The present study aimed to compare the effects of supportive care and acupressure on the pregnant women's pain intensity and delivery outcome. In this experimental study, 150 pregnant women were randomly divided into supportive care, acupressure, and control groups. The intensity of pain was measured using Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). The supportive care group received both physical and emotional cares. In the acupressure group, on the other hand, BL32 acupoint was pressed during the contractions. Then, the data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The results revealed significant difference among the three groups regarding the intensity of pain after the intervention (P < 0.001). Besides, the highest rate of natural vaginal delivery was observed in the supportive care group (94%) and the acupressure group (92%), while the highest rate of cesarean delivery was related to the control group (40%) and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.001). The results showed that maternal supportive care and acupressure during labor reduced the intensity of pain and improved the delivery outcomes. Therefore, these methods can be introduced to the medical team as effective strategies for decreasing delivery pain. This trial is registered with the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trial Code IRCT2014011011706N5.

Background and Objectives:Prolonged labor leads to increase of cesarean deliveries, reduction of fetal heart rate, and maternal as well as infantile complications. Therefore, many women tend to use pharmacological or non-pharmacological methods for reduction of labor length. The present study aimed to compare the effects of maternal supportive care and acupressure (at BL32 acupoint) on labor length and infant's Apgar score.Methods:In this clinical trial, 150 women with low-risk pregnancy were randomly divided into supportive care, acupressure, and control groups each containing 50 subjects. The data were collected using a questionnaire including demographic and pregnancy characteristics. Then, the data were analyzed using Chi-square test and one-way ANOVA.Results:The mean length of the first and second stages of labor was respectively 157.0±29.5 and 58.9±25.8 minutes in the supportive care group, 161.7±37.3 and 56.1±31.4 minutes in the acupressure group, ad 281.0±79.8 and 128.4±44.9 minutes in the control group. The difference between the length of labor stages was significant in the three study groups (P<0.001). Moreover, the frequency of Apgar score≥8 in the first and 5th minutes was higher in the supportive care and acupressure groups compared to the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.001).Conclusion:Continuous support and acupressure could reduce the length of labor stages and increase the infants’ Apgar scores. Therefore, these methods, as effective non-pharmacological strategies, can be introduced to the medical staff to improve the delivery outcomes.

Warm compress bistage intervention was effective in reducing episiotomies and the mean length of episiotomy incision, reducing pain after delivery, and increasing the rate of intact perinea. However, the rate of ruptures slightly increased in the intervention group compared with the control group.

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