Water Immersion: An Effective Method to Shorten the First and Second Stages of Labor.

Abstract

Background: Birth in water; It is an alternative form of birth where the first stage of birth and / or the second stage is performed in a pool filled with warm water at 37 degrees. Our aim is to investigate the effect of immersion in water during labor which is a method that we often apply recently on the birth stages.
Methods: The study groups consisted of 104 women undergoing vaginal delivery with immersion in water during labor (group 1) and the control group (group 2) of 104 women undergoing vaginal delivery. All data were taken from patients who have delivered with spontaneous vaginal delivery. The time from the beginning of the active phase to the 10 cm cervical dilatation and the time from the full dilatation to the expulsion of the baby were recorded. First and second stage times have been evaluated.
Results: The study groups consisted of 104 women undergoing vaginal delivery with immersion in water during labor (Group 1) and the control group (Group 2) of 104 women undergoing vaginal delivery at the hospital. The women in the two groups were matched with respect to age, parite, birth weight and gestational age . The mean first stage time of labor in the first group was 5.50±1.51 hours and in the second group was 6.08±1.58 hours. The mean second stage time of labor in the first group was 24.4±11.6 minutes and in the second group was 29.7±14.5 minutes.
Conclusion: Water immersion during labor in terms of reduction in first and second stage of labor and not cause an increased risk of adverse effects to the fetus/newborn.

Keywords

• Labor stages
• vaginal delivery
• water birth

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