Lai CY, Wong MKW, Tong WH, Lau KY, Chu SY, Tam AML, Hui LL, Lao TTH, Leung TY. The impact of antenatal massage practice on intrapartum massage application and their associations with the use of analgesics during labour : Sub-analysis of a randomised control trial.
BMC Pregnancy Childbirth 2022;
22:420. [PMID:
35585620 PMCID:
PMC9118716 DOI:
10.1186/s12884-022-04743-7]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2021] [Accepted: 05/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Background
Massage during labour is one form of intrapartum non-pharmacological pain relief but it is not known whether the frequency of practicing these massage techniques among couples during the antenatal period could enhance the effectiveness of intrapartum massage. This study was to evaluate the association between compliance of antenatal massage practice with intrapartum application and their impact on the use of analgesics during labour.
Methods
This was a sub-analysis of a childbirth massage programme which was carried out in two public hospitals with total births of around 8000 per year. Data from women who were randomized to the massage group were further analysed. After attending the pre-birth training class on massage at 36 weeks gestation, couples would be encouraged to practice at home. Their compliance with massage at home was classified as good if they had practiced for at least 15 minutes for three or more days in a week, or as poor if the three-day threshold had not been reached. Application of intrapartum massage was quantified by the duration of practice divided by the total duration of the first stage of labour. Women’s application of intrapartum massage were then divided into above and below median levels according to percentage of practice. Logistic regression was used to assess the use of epidural analgesia or pethidine, adjusted for duration of labour and gestational age when attending the massage class.
Results
Among the 212 women included, 103 women (48.6%) achieved good home massage compliance. No significant difference in the maternal characteristics or birth outcomes was observed between the good and poor compliance groups. The intrapartum massage application (median 21.1%) was inversely associated with duration of first stage of labour and positively associated with better home massage practice compliance (p = 0.04). Lower use of pethidine or epidural analgesia (OR 0.33 95% CI 0.12, 0.90) was associated with above median intrapartum massage application but not antenatal massage compliance, adjusted for duration of first stage of labour.
Conclusions
More frequent practice of massage techniques among couples during antenatal period could enhance the intrapartum massage application, which may reduce the use of pethidine and epidural analgesia.
Trial registration
(CCRBCTR) Unique Trial Number CUHK_ CCRB00525.
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