The non-pharmacologic methods of pain management used by midwives during the first stage of labor

[摘要] English: Many of the non-pharmacologic methods of pain management are closed relatedto many common nursing comfort and support strategies and may be potentiallyas effective as narcotics in providing adequate pain relief to a well supportedmother who is experiencing a reasonably normal labor. There is ampleopportunity for midwives to use non-pharmacologic methods and discover thebest modifications for their use during labor since they are the professionalsresponsible for providing care and support throughout the entire childbirthprocess. It is also necessary for the midwives and the expectant parents toexplore various strategies of managing the pain of labor; in order that informedchoices can be made regarding the desired pain relief measures. However,thereis a scarcity of literature dealing with exploration and evaluation of the use ofthese methods by midwives during labor and therefore, additional research isneeded.The purpose of this study was to determine the use of non-pharmacologicmethods of pain management by the midwives during the first stage of labor. Theresearch design was non-experimental and of a descriptive nature. The surveymethod was used to obtain the necessary data. The data was obtained by theuse of a structured questionnaire which was completed by the midwives workingin the maternity wards of the Christian Hospital Association of Lesotho andgovernment hospitals in Lesotho. All data was analysed on a nominal descriptivelevel.According to the results, the midwives indicated that they were taught nonpharmacologicmethods of pain management during basic and advancedmidwifery training however, they expressed that they inadequately use thesemethods during the first stage of labor due to shortage of staff, lack of privacyand space, a high midwife-mother ratio, culture and hospital policies. In the lightof these findings, the recommendations were made for maximizing the use ofnon-pharmacologic methods by midwives during the first stage of labor. Furtherresearch in the use of different non-pharmacologic methods was alsorecommended.

[发布机构] University of the Free State