The Effect of Breathing and Skin Stimulation Techniques on Labour Pain Perception of Turkish Women

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of breathing techniques and nurse-administered massage on the pain perception of pregnant woman during labour. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: The present study was conducted among pregnant women (75% primiparous) admitted to the SSK Bakirkoy Women and Children's Hospital (Istanbul, Turkey) between January 1, and September 1, 2000. The patients were in their 38th to 42nd week of pregnancy, not at high risk and expected to have normal vaginal delivery. They were selected from volunteers by nonrandom sampling. STUDY DESIGN: The present study involved 40 cases, with 20 in the experimental group and 20 in the control group. Data were obtained through the visual analogue scale, inspection form, observation form and postnatal interview form. The study investigators provided information about labour, breathing techniques and massage to the pregnant women assigned to the experimental group at the beginning of labour (latent phase). A study investigator also accompanied them during labour. These women received nurse-administered massage and were encouraged to breathe and perform self-administered massage. They were also instructed to change their positions and to relax. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Study results demonstrated that nursing support and patient-directed education concerning labour and nonpharmacological pain control methods (eg, breathing and cutaneous stimulation techniques) were effective in reducing the perception of pain by pregnant women (when provided in the latent labour phase before delivery), leading to a more satisfactory birth experience.

Massage or music for pain relief in labour: A pilot randomised placebo controlled trial

“…Current evidence on endogenous pain modulatory pathways that are activated by repeated massage for painful stimuli suggests that the analgesic effects of massage need to be studied using animal models (Uvnas-Moberg et al, 1993;Lund, 2000;Lund et al, 2002). The majority of recent trials on massage for labour and other forms of pain have been designed to test the effects of structured programmes of massage used in combination with other techniques (Field et al, 1997;Chang et al, 2002;Yildirim and Sahin, 2004;Ezzo, 2007). To improve the quality of evidence on massage interventions combined with relaxation techniques for labour and birth pain, our key task is to follow recent recommendations, to correct design flaws and methodological weakness in existing trials (Smith et al, 2006;Ezzo, 2007).…”

“…Four trials have been conducted on massage in labour (Field et al, 1997;Chang et al, 2002;Yildirim and Sahin, 2004;Khodakarami et al, 2006). The first involved 28 women randomly assigned to coaching in relaxation breathing techniques alone, or with massage, in a US hospital (Field et al, 1997).…”

“…The third compared 20 mothers assigned non randomly to massage and relaxation breathing techniques performed by a nurse, with 20 women assigned to routine monitoring, in Istanbul (Yildirim and Sahin, 2004). The intervention used upper/lower back massage, self administered abdominal massage and continuous nursing support.…”

Complementary and alternative therapies to relieve labor pain: A comparative study between music therapy and Hoku point ice massage

“…Another study in this regard conducted by Yildirim & Sahin examined the effect of breathing and skin stimulation techniques on labor pain perception among 40 Turkish women. They showed that both breathing and skin stimulation techniques were effective in reducing the perception of pain by pregnant women, which led to a more satisfactory experience of childbirth [18].…”

Effectiveness of Aromatherapy with Lavender Oil in Relieving Post Caesarean Incision Pain

“…Therefore, relieving post caesarean pain is an issue that cannot be ignored. Non-pharmacological methods increased the individual control feeling, decreased the feeling of weakness, improved the activity level and functional capacity, and reduced the needed dosage of analgesic drugs thus decreasing the side effects of the treatment (4) . In recent years, many complementary therapies such as herbal medicines and aromatherapy are tried to help manage pain (5) .…”