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Hydrotherapy in labor.

Rebecca D Benfield1

  • 1School of Nursing, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858, USA. benfieldr@mail.ecu.edu

Journal of Nursing Scholarship : an Official Publication of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing
|December 28, 2002
PubMed
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Hydrotherapy during labor offers favorable subjective maternal responses for pain and anxiety relief. However, current evidence does not support its use for improving labor outcomes or reducing interventions.

Area of Science:

  • Obstetrics and Gynecology
  • Maternal Health
  • Evidence-Based Practice

Background:

  • Hydrotherapy, or immersion in water, is increasingly explored as a non-pharmacological intervention during labor.
  • Understanding its effects on maternal and fetal well-being is crucial for clinical application.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To conduct a literature review on hydrotherapy in labor.
  • To guide the prescription of hydrotherapy and inform future study designs for effectiveness testing.

Main Methods:

  • Systematic literature search of studies on hydrotherapy in labor.
  • Identification of relevant research through electronic databases and literature reviews.

Main Results:

  • Immersion in water during labor leads to an immediate central blood volume increase.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Maternal subjective responses to hydrotherapy are generally positive, with no reported infections linked to its use.
  • No significant impact was observed on infant Apgar scores or birth stress hormones.
  • Evidence does not support hydrotherapy's efficacy in accelerating cervical dilation, fetal descent, or labor duration, nor in reducing interventions like epidurals, operative delivery, or hemorrhage.

    • Conclusions:

    • Hydrotherapy shows promise for managing labor pain and anxiety.
    • Further rigorous research, including large prospective randomized trials, is necessary to establish efficacy for specific patient groups and circumstances.
    • Clarifying the mechanisms of action and controlling for confounding variables are essential for evidence-based prescription of hydrotherapy.