Does relaxation during childbirth work?
Reported June 01, 2009
Relaxation and breathing techniques do not reduce the need for drugs during childbirth, a new study indicates.
The study from Sweden, which included more than 1,000 women and their partners, found that pre-pregnancy training in breathing, relaxation and massage techniques aimed at promoting natural childbirth produced no measureable benefits.
The scientists had hypothesised that participants in the natural childbirth group would have lower rates of epidural or spinal anaesthetic and a more positive overall experience of childbirth.
But they found that the experiences of childbirth and stress were similar in the women in the natural group and the standard group.
The epidural rate was 52% and the spontaneous vaginal birth rate 66% in both groups. The caesarean section rate was 20% in the natural group and 21.5% in the standard group. The instrumental delivery rate was 14% in the natural group and 12% in the standard group.
There were also no statistically significant differences between the groups in the satisfaction of the childbirth experience or postnatal parental stress (measured at three months).
The researchers concluded that natural childbirth preparation does not reduce the need for epidural analgesia or improve the birth experience, when compared to standard antenatal instruction.
The study was published in the British Journal of Gynaecology (BJOG).
Prof Philip Steer, BJOG editor-in-chief, said the findings of the study were contrary to what many of us would expect.
The lack of benefit from breathing and relaxation techniques is disappointing, and suggests that parents experience of childbirth is affected more by their personality and previous psychological orientation than by the relatively limited training that is possible during pregnancy, Prof Steer said.
Further research is required to establish if the results of such a trial would be similar in other countries, where standard antenatal preparation classes may differ.
Source : www.irishhealth.com