ArticleBMC pregnancy and childbirth2014
A comparison of maternal and neonatal outcomes between water immersion during labor and conventional labor and delivery.
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. It is linked to trial NCT06429111 (Effectiveness and Safety in Maternal and Neonatal Outcomes of Waterbirth Compared to Delivery in Women Using Epidural Analgesia), which is not on this map. Cited by 12 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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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.
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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.
Effectiveness and Safety in Maternal and Neonatal Outcomes of Waterbirth Compared to Delivery in Women Using Epidural Analgesia
Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Systematic review of the associations between prenatal sleep behaviours and components of energy balance for regulating weight gain.Journal of sleep research · 2023Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Comparative Efficacy of Water and Conventional Delivery during Labour: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of healthcare engineering · 2022Pooled it
- Back massage as an approach to reduce labor anxiety in primigravida mothers.Bioinformation · 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
- Does dietary total antioxidant capacity relate to oxidative stress levels in water immersion during labor? A case-control study.Revista da Associacao Medica Brasileira (1992) · 2024Article
- Potential Implications of Emerging Nontraditional Childbirth Practices On Neonatal Health.The Journal of pediatrics · 2023Article
- Safety and Effect of the Use of Hydrotherapy during Labour: A Retrospective Observational Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Article
- Factors Associated With Normal Physiologic Birth for Women Who Labor In Water: A Secondary Analysis of A Prospective Observational Study.Journal of midwifery & women's health · 2022Observational
- Article
- Article
- Case Report of Haemophilus parainfluenzae Sepsis in a Newborn Infant Following Water Birth and a Review of Literature.AJP reports · 2015Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundWater immersion during the first stage of labor can reduce the length of the first stage and epidural/spinal analgesia use; however, there is limited information regarding other outcomes. Our purpose was to compare maternal and neonatal outcomes of women who underwent water immersion during the first stage of labor with those who underwent conventional labor and delivery.
methodsHealthy primipara with singleton pregnancies and cephalic presentation were included in the study. Patients were allowed to choose water immersion during labor or conventional labor and delivery. For water immersion, the water temperature was maintained at 35-38°C and subjects left the tub on complete cervical dilatation. A visual analogue scale (VAS) was used to assess pain during labor. Other outcome measures included duration of labor, type of delivery, blood loss, pelvic floor dysfunction and symptoms of stress urinary incontinence (SUI) at 42 days after delivery, infant Apgar scores, and need for transfer of the infant to the neonatal intensive care unit.
resultsThirty eight subjects (mean age, 28.66 ± 3.08 y) received water immersion and 70 (mean age, 27.89 ± 2.99 y) underwent conventional labor and delivery. There were no differences in maternal height, weight, age, gestational age, gravidity, and newborn weight between the groups (all, p>0.05). VAS pain scores were significantly greater in the conventional labor group at 30 min and 60 min after a cervical dilatation of 3 cm (30 min: 10 [9, 10] vs. 6 [5, 8]; 60 min: 10 [10, 10] vs. 7 [6, 8], respectively, both, p<0.001). The duration of labor and postpartum bleeding were similar between the groups (all, p>0.05). The cesarean section rate was higher in the conventional labor group (32.9% vs. 13.2%, p=0.026). The 1-minute and 5-minute Apgar scores were similar between the groups. Maternal and neonatal culture results were similar between the groups. SUI symptoms at 42 days after delivery was significantly higher in the conventional labor group (25.5% vs. 6.1%, respectively, p=0.035).
conclusionsWater immersion can reduce labor pain, and is associated with a lower rate of cesarean delivery and SUI symptoms at 42 days.
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