Effect of Intermittent Heat and Cold Therapy on Comfort During Labor

Summary

Summary of the Study Childbirth is one of the most significant and complex experiences in any mother's life. According to a study, labour pain ranges from mild to severe and is felt throughout the body, particularly in the lower abdomen, vagina, and around the waist. The mean pain perception of the prurient as assessed by the Visual Analog scale (VAS) was 7.0 with a range of 1.2-10.0. In a study, 50% of parturients rated labour pain as severe (VAS \> 7.1). The majority of the respondents 86.4% desired some form of pain relief. Pain relief during labor is a crucial component of the labor process. Non-drug techniques for alleviating labor pain focus on psychological and physical discomfort elements. A study in Panjab was performed to assess the effectiveness of heat therapy on the lower back among women in labor pain during the first stage of labor and found that heat therapy reduces the severity of pain in the first stage of labor. A study performed in India found that intermittent heat and cold therapy successfully shorten the first and second stages of labor's duration and pain. The purpose of the study is to compare the impact of intermittent heat and cold therapy with heat-only therapy on comfort and duration of labor among primigravida women at a Bharatpur hospital in Nepal.

A quantitative research approach will be adopted and the research design will be a true experimental pretest posttest design. It will be conducted among 150 low-risk primigravida women aged 20 to 35 years with a gestation of 37-41 weeks of pregnancy admitted to the maternity of Bharatpur Hospital, Chitwan Nepal who are anticipated to deliver spontaneously. The participants will be divided into 50 in each 3 groups. One group will receive intermittent heat and cold therapy, another group will receive heat-only therapy and one group will be the control group. The tool will be a standard tool which are Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and Childbirth Comfort Questionnaire (CCQ). All the ethical clearance will be obtained before collecting data from Sharda University, Nepal Health Research Council, and Bharatpur Hospital. Informed consent will be taken from all the participants and their rights, privacy, confidentiality, and comfort will be maintained. The participants can withdraw from the study at any time without giving any explanation. The data will be organized and entered into Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS) version 16 for analysis. The data will be analyzed according to the objectives of the study by using descriptive and inferential statistics.

Conditions

• Labour Pain
• Cold Therapy
• Heat Therapy

Interventions

PROCEDURE

Intermittent heat and cold versus heat-only therapy

for the experimental group, a cyclical method of alternating heat and cold application will be used on the lumbosacral and lower abdominal area of the laboring women. The process involves applying a hot pack with a temperature range of 38-40°C on their lower abdomen and low back for 30 minutes during contractions and a relaxing period using a 2-litre rubber hot water bag. Subsequently, reusable ice packs typically contain water, covered with a towel and with a temperature range of 0-5°C will be applied to the same areas for 10 minutes. After a 30-minute interval, the heat application will be reapplied, and this alternating heat and cold cycle will be repeated throughout the first stage of the laboring process.

PROCEDURE

Heat- only Therapy

hot water bag will be used to provide heat to the lower back of primigravida women during the first stage of labor. The water in the bag will be maintained at a temperature of 40-42ºC. The application of heat will last for 20 minutes, and it will be repeated every hour until the cervix is fully dilated.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Tribhuvan University, Nepal

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

35 Years

Sex

FEMALE

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2024-02-26

Primary Completion

2024-08-01

Completion

2024-08-16

Countries

• Nepal

Study Locations