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Therapeutics
Warm water bathing did not reduce use of pharmacological analgesia during the first stage of labour

https://doi.org/10.1136/ebm.6.6.177

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    (2001) Birth 28, 84. Eckert K, Turnbull D, MacLennan A.. Immersion in water in the first stage of labor: a randomized controlled trial.. Jun;. :. –93.
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 QUESTION: In women in labour, does warm water bathing reduce the need for pharmacological pain relief more than no bathing?

    Design

    Randomised (allocation concealed*), partially blinded (data analysts blinded to study group allocation where appropriate),* controlled trial with 8 months of follow up.

    Setting

    A maternity tertiary-care referral centre in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.

    Patients

    274 pregnant women (mean age 28 y) who were planning to deliver at the study hospital, were expecting a singleton pregnancy at term, and had no medical or obstetric complications. Exclusion criteria were labour before 37 weeks of gestation, plans to deliver by caesarean section, requirement for continuous electronic fetal monitoring, history of group B streptococcal vaginal colonisation, or need for parenteral narcotic or epidural blockade shortly after admission. All women were included in the analysis.

    Intervention

    Women were allocated to warm water bathing (n=137) or routine hospital care (n=137). Women in the bathing group could have a bath for as long as they liked …

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    Footnotes

    • Source of funding: Department of Human Services and Women's and Children's Hospital.

    • For correspondence: Ms K Eckert, Department of Human Services Public and Environmental Health Service, P.O. Box 6, Rundle Mall, Adelaide SA 5000, Australia. Fax +61 8 226 7187.

    • ↵* See glossary.

    • ↵† p Values calculated from data in article.