Pain Intensity, coping and maternal satisfaction in Low-Risk labouring Women: A prospective descriptive correlational study.

OBJECTIVES: The primary aim of the study was to explore pain intensity (PI) and pain coping (PC) scores and the relationship between them. The secondary aim was to explore the correlation between PI and PC scores with labour progress, parity, labour acceleration, labour augmentation and maternal satisfaction. METHODS: A prospective descriptive correlational study was conducted in a maternity hospital in Northern Italy. The sample included 54 low-risk women in active labour at term of pregnancy. A data record sheet was used to collect the relevant variables and the Italian Birth Satisfaction Scale Revised (I-BSS-R) was administered to participants at least 24 h after birth. RESULTS: In the first labour stage, the average PI score was 6.99 (SD = 1.95) and the average PC score was 6.5 (SD = 2.22). During the second labour stage, the average PI score was 7.75 (SD = 1.74) and the average PC score was 4.97 (SD = 2.76). The average PI score trend increased with labour progress. The average PC score improved between 4 and 7 cm of cervical dilatation. A significant positive correlation between PI scores and oxytocin augmentation (p < 0.001) and labour progression (p < 0.001) was noted. A significant positive correlation between PC scores and oxytocin augmentation (p = 0.02) was also observed. No significant differences were found for maternal satisfaction in regard to PI and PC scores. CONCLUSION: coping in labour do not solely depend on PI but also on labour progress and oxytocin augmentation. Additional support to empower women to cope with pain may be required in case of labour augmentation.

Timing of hospital admission in labour: latent versus active phase, mode of birth and intrapartum interventions. A correlational study.

BACKGROUND: Hospitalization of women in latent labour often leads to a cascade of unnecessary intrapartum interventions, to avoid potential disadvantages the recommendation should be to stay at home to improve women's experience and perinatal outcomes. AIM: The primary aim of this study was to investigate the association between hospital admission diagnosis (latent vs active phase) and mode of birth. The secondary aim was to explore the relationship between hospital admission diagnosis, intrapartum intervention rates and maternal/neonatal outcomes. METHODS: A correlational study was conducted in a large Italian maternity hospital. Data from January 2013 to December 2014 were collected from the hospital electronic records. 1.446 records of low risk women were selected. These were dichotomized into two groups based on admission diagnosis: 'latent phase' or 'active phase' of labour. FINDINGS: 52.7% of women were admitted in active labour and 47.3% in the latent phase. Women in the latent phase group were more likely to experience a caesarean section or an instrumental birth, artificial rupture of membranes, oxytocin augmentation and epidural analgesia. Admission in the latent phase was associated with higher intrapartum interventions, which were statistically correlated to the mode of birth. CONCLUSIONS: Women admitted in the latent phase were more likely to experience intrapartum interventions, which increase the probability of caesarean section. Maternity services should be organized around women and families needs, providing early labour support, to enable women to feel reassured facilitating their admission in labour to avoid the cascade of intrapartum interventions which increases the risk of caesarean section.