ArticleBMC pregnancy and childbirth2014
Pain relief in labour: a qualitative study to determine how to support women to make decisions about pain relief in labour.
Article in BMC pregnancy and childbirth, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Women's experiences of decision-making and informed choice about pregnancy and birth care: a systematic review and meta-synthesis of qualitative research.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2020Pooled it
- Women's experiences of pharmacological and non-pharmacological pain relief methods for labour and childbirth: a qualitative systematic review.Reproductive health · 2019Pooled it
- Parenteral opioids for maternal pain management in labour.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2018Pooled it
- Qualitative exploration of women's experiences of intramuscular pethidine or remifentanil patient-controlled analgesia for labour pain.BMJ open · 2019Trial
- Labour pain management practices in a teaching tertiary hospital in Botswana: a cross-sectional study.The Pan African medical journal · 2026Article
- Women's perspectives of decision-making for labour and birth: a qualitative antenatal-postnatal paired interview study.BMJ open · 2025Article
- Parturients' perspectives on labor pain and epidural analgesia: A protocol for an explorative qualitative study.Acta anaesthesiologica Scandinavica · 2025Article
- Women's and maternity care providers' perceptions of pain management during childbirth in hospitals in Southern Tanzania.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2024Article
- Non-Pharmacological Pain Management in Labor: A Systematic Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Review
- Health literate-sensitive shared decision-making in maternity care: needs for support among maternity care professionals in the Netherlands.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2023Article
- Co-designing a theory-informed intervention to increase shared decision-making in maternity care.Health research policy and systems · 2023Article
- Article
- Women's view on shared decision making and autonomy in childbirth: cohort study of Belgian women.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2022Article
- The barriers to offering non-pharmacological pain management as an initial option for laboring women: A review of the literature.European journal of midwifery · 2022Review
- Development of the Labor Pain Relief Attitude Questionnaire for pregnant women (LPRAQ-p).BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2020Article
- Validation of the Women's Views of Birth Labor Satisfaction Questionnaire (WOMBLSQ4) in the Spanish Population.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
- The Effect of Massage Therapy Using Frangipani Aromatherapy Oil to Reduce the Childbirth Pain Intensity.International journal of therapeutic massage & bodywork · 2019Article
- "We know it's labour pain, so we don't do anything": healthcare provider's knowledge and attitudes regarding the provision of pain relief during labour and after childbirth.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2018Article
- The relationship between expectation, experience and perception of labour pain: an observational study.SpringerPlus · 2016Article
- Satisfaction Level of New Mothers with Prenatal Care and the Healthcare Professionals Who Provide It.The West Indian medical journal · 2014Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundEngagement in decision making is a key priority of modern healthcare. Women are encouraged to make decisions about pain relief in labour in the ante-natal period based upon their expectations of what labour pain will be like. Many women find this planning difficult. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore how women can be better supported in preparing for, and making, decisions during pregnancy and labour regarding pain management.
methodsSemi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 primiparous and 10 multiparous women at 36 weeks of pregnancy and again within six weeks postnatally. Data collection and analysis occurred concurrently to identify key themes.
resultsThree main themes emerged from the data. Firstly, during pregnancy women expressed a degree of uncertainty about the level of pain they would experience in labour and the effect of different methods of pain relief. Secondly, women reflected on how decisions had been made regarding pain management in labour and the degree to which they had felt comfortable making these decisions. Finally, women discussed their perceived levels of control, both desired and experienced, over both their bodies and the decisions they were making.
conclusionThis study suggests that the current approach of antenatal preparation in the NHS, of asking women to make decisions antenatally for pain relief in labour, needs reviewing. It would be more beneficial to concentrate efforts on better informing women and on engaging them in discussions around their values, expectations and preferences and how these affect each specific choice rather than expecting them to make to make firm decisions in advance of such an unpredictable event as labour.
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