The effect of cold application to the sacral area on labor pain and labor process: A randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Aim: This study aims to determine the effect of cold application to the sacral area in the first stage of labor on labor pain and process.Materials and Methods: The study was done as a randomized controlled experimental study. While the women in the experimental group received cold application for 10 minutes every 20 minutes after 4 cm of cervical dilatation, the women in control group received routine care protocol of the unit.Results: The pregnant women in experimental group showed statistically significantly low score of pain on the 40th (p=0.041), 100th (p<0.001), and 160th (p=0.014) minutes and had statistically significantly shorter delivery time (p<0.001) in comparison to the control group. It was also found that dilatation and effacement happened in statistically significantly shorter time in the experimental group (p<0.05).Conclusion: Cold application to the sacral area of pregnant women in the first stage of labor reduces labor pain, shortens labor time, and shortens dilatation and effacement time.

Efficacy of different strategies for reducing labor pain: A Bayesian analysis

“…According to the title and abstract, 478 relevant studies were excluded, and then, 6 studies were removed by reading the full text. Finally, 9 studies [18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] were included in this meta-analysis in accordance with the inclusion criteria. The PRISMA flow diagram is listed in Figure 1.…”