Water immersion and the effect on labor

Randomised controlled trial of labouring in water compared with standard of augmentation for management of dystocia in first stage of labour

“…Possible reasons for this include the water immersion itself, the delay in intervention of up to four hours (even though this did not affect overall labour length), extra caution by practitioners when women were known to have laboured in water, or chance factors with no direct relation to the trial. No other studies of labour in water have reported such an association: instead, they either did not provide data on admissions to neonatal units19 20 or reported only one admission21 or similar admission rates in both trial arms 22. Eckert et al reported an increased incidence of initial resuscitation measures with water immersion,22 but we found no difference in Apgar scores and blood gas analysis at birth.…”

The effects of immersion in water on labor, birth and newborn and comparison with epidural analgesia and conventional vaginal delivery

“…The positive physiological effects of hydrotherapy can facilitate the neurohormonal interactions of labour, reducing pain, and potentially facilitates the progress of labour (11,12). Water immersion may be associated with improved uterine perfusion, less painful contractions and a shorter labour with fewer interventions (13)(14)(15) sion shortens the process of labour (1,15), however some others found no significant difference for the duration of the 1st stages of labour (13,(16)(17)(18)(19)(20). The present study also demonstrates that the 1st stage of labour is not shortened by immersion in water in either primigravidas or multigravidas.…”

Analgesia adjuvante e alternativa

“…A hidroterapia no trabalho de parto se faz por imersão da parturiente em água morna, reduzindo-lhe a sensibilidade dolorosa e a pressão arterial por modificações hemodinâ-micas em função da maior pressão hidrostática nos membros inferiores (menor retorno venoso). Além do aspecto prazeroso da água em movimento, a pressão exercida nos termo e mecanorreceptores da pele e dos músculos via fibras nervosas mais grossas (Aα, Aβ e Aδ) modificam a transmissão aferente nociceptiva mais lenta (C), com conseqüente redução da percepção dolorosa através do sistema de comporta espinal da dor [19][20][21][22][23][24][25] . A injeção subcutânea de água bidestilada no dorso feminino na margem do triângu-lo de Michaelis alivia a dor lombar, queixa presente em um terço das parturientes no primeiro estágio do parto, sobretudo quando a dor nas costas está associada à apresentação posterior da cabeça do feto (ODP) pela demora na rotação (sentido horário) do pólo cefálico.…”

“…Hydrotherapy during labor is accomplished by immersing the pregnant woman in warm water, thus reducing her sensibility to pain and her blood pressure due to hemodynamic changes caused by the increased hydrostatic pressure in the lower limbs (decreased venous return). Besides the pleasant feeling of the moving water, the pressure exerted on thermal and mechanoreceptors of the skin and muscles through the larger nervous fibers (Aα, Aβ, and Aδ) modify the slower afferent nociceptive transmission (C), reducing pain perception through the spinal gate system [19][20][21][22][23][24][25] . The subcutaneous injection of bidestilled water in the dorsum of a woman, at the border of the Michaelis triangle, alleviates lumbar pain, a complaint of 1/3 of the pregnant women in the first stage of labor, especially when the back pain is associated with the posterior presentation of the fetal head (ROP), due to the delayed rotation (clockwise) of the head.…”