Women's Prenatal and Labor Experiences in a Hospital With an Early-Labor Lounge

To evaluate the information that women with low-risk pregnancies received during the prenatal period about latent labor and the early-labor lounge (ELL) and their subsequent use of the ELL.

Cross-sectional design with survey.

Community hospital in the northeastern United States with a low-risk cesarean birth rate of 33%, which exceeds the national target rate of 23.9%.

Low-risk, nulliparous, pregnant women with a term singleton vertex fetus at hospital admission (N = 67).

An electronic survey was administered before hospital discharge following birth. The survey assessed prenatal education, use of the ELL, admission characteristics, and birth satisfaction. Descriptive analysis was used.

Nearly half (43.9%) of the women surveyed used the ELL. ELL users received prenatal care (72.3%), knew signs of active labor (93.1%), and had a cesarean birth rate of 7.1%. Significantly greater proportions of women prenatally cared for by midwives reported knowledge of the signs of early labor (100% vs. 80%; χ² = 4.4, p = .04) and of the availability of the ELL (18.2% vs. 70.6%; χ² = 15.2, p < .001). A range of activities were offered in the ELL, and at least 75% of women indicated that all activities were helpful during latent labor. Birth satisfaction scores, measured on a scale of 0 to 40, with 40 indicating greatest satisfaction, ranged from 22 to 35 among ELL participants.

An ELL is a care innovation that hospitals can consider for providing support to women with low-risk pregnancies during the latent phase of labor. Women who used the ELL reported feeling that it provided guidance and support. An ELL is a woman-centered option for delayed admission.