Observational studyBMC pregnancy and childbirth2014
Labouring women who used a birthing pool in obstetric units in Italy: prospective observational study.
Observational study in BMC pregnancy and childbirth, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05175599 (Hospital Waterbirth), which is not on this map. Cited by 18 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
Hospital Waterbirth: A Pilot Randomized Control Study
Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Pooled it
- Immersion in water during labour and birth.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2018Pooled it
- Is a randomized controlled trial of waterbirth possible? An Australian feasibility study.Birth (Berkeley, Calif.) · 2022Trial
- Hospital waterbirth for low-risk birthing people: findings of a randomized controlled trial.AJOG global reports · 2025Article
- Effects of Water Immersion Versus Epidural as Analgesic Methods during Labor among Low-Risk Women: A 10-Year Retrospective Cohort Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Systematic Reviews and Synthesis without Meta-Analysis on Hydrotherapy for Pain Control in Labor.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Maternal and neonatal outcomes following waterbirth: a cohort study of 17 530 waterbirths and 17 530 propensity score-matched land births.BJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology · 2022Article
- Feature Article-Continuing Education Module-International Water-Birth Practices With Recommendations During a Global Pandemic.The Journal of perinatal education · 2021Article
- Prospective cohort study of water immersion for labour and birth compared with standard care in an Irish maternity setting.BMJ open · 2020Article
- Maternal and Neonatal Outcomes in Hospital-Based Deliveries With Water Immersion.Obstetrics and gynecology · 2020Article
- Getting into the water: a prospective observational study of water immersion for labour and birth at a New Zealand District Health Board.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2020Observational
- Predictors of obstetric anal sphincter injury during waterbirth: a secondary analysis of a prospective observational study.International urogynecology journal · 2020Observational
- Factors influencing the use of birth pools in the United Kingdom: Perspectives of women, midwives and medical staff.Midwifery · 2019Article
- Neonatal Outcomes Following Delivery in Water: Evaluation of Safety in a District General Hospital.Cureus · 2018Article
- Experiences of Greek women of water immersion during normal labour and birth. A qualitative study.European journal of midwifery · 2018Article
- Article
- Active delivery of the anterior arm and incidence of second-degree perineal tears: a clinical practice evaluation.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2017Observational
- The EpiNo® Device: Efficacy, Tolerability, and Impact on Pelvic Floor-Implications for Future Research.Obstetrics and gynecology international · 2016Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundFor women at low risk of childbirth complications, water immersion during labour is a care option in many high income countries. Our aims were (a) to describe maternal characteristics, intrapartum events, interventions, maternal and neonatal outcomes for all women who used a birthing pool during labour who either had a waterbirth or left the pool and had a landbirth, and for the subgroup of women who had a waterbirth in 19 obstetric units, and (b) to compare maternal characteristics, intrapartum events, interventions, and maternal and neonatal outcomes for women who used a birthing pool with a control group of women who did not use a birthing pool for whom we prospectively collected data in a single centre.
methodsProspective observational study in 19 Italian obstetric units 2002-2005. Participants were: (a) 2,505 women in labour using a birthing pool in 19 obstetric units; and (b) 114 women in labour using a birthing pool and 459 women who did not use a birthing pool in one obstetric unit. Descriptive statistics were calculated for the sample as a whole and, separately, for those women who gave birth in water. Categorical data were compared using Chi square statistics and continuous data by T-tests.
resultsOverall, 95.6% of women using a birthing pool had a spontaneous vertex delivery, 63.9% of which occurred in water. Half of nulliparas and three quarters of multiparas delivered in water. Adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes were rare. There were two cases of umbilical cord snap with waterbirth. Compared with controls, significantly more women who used a birthing pool adopted an upright birth position, had hands off delivery technique, and a physiological third stage. Significantly fewer nulliparas had an episiotomy, and more had a second degree perineal tear, with no evidence of a difference for extensive perineal tears.
conclusionsBirthing pool use was associated with spontaneous vaginal birth. The increase in second degree tears was balanced by fewer episiotomies. Undue umbilical cord traction should be avoided during waterbirth.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.