ReviewEuropean journal of midwifery2022
The effect of heat therapy on pain intensity, duration of labor during first stage among primiparous women and Apgar scores: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Review in European journal of midwifery, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06297031 (The Effect of Heat Application to the Sacral Region During The First Stage of Labor On the Pain Level and the Obstetric Outcomes), which is not on this map. Cited by 13 papers.
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.
The Effect of Heat Application to the Sacral Region During The First Stage of Labor On the Pain Level and the Obstetric Outcomes
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 22 citations in OpenAlex.
- Article
- Equity and Inclusion: A Review of NHS and HSC Online Information for Women in the Early Phase of Labour.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Superficial heat therapy in women's health.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Review
- Article
- Influence of contrast compression therapy and water immersion contrast therapy on biomechanical parameters of the forearm muscles in martial arts athletes.Frontiers in physiology · 2025Article
- Effect of Heat Therapy on Pain During the First Stage of Labor Among Primigravid Women: A Pilot Study.Cureus · 2025Article
- The Effects of Combined Contrast Heat Cold Pressure Therapy on Post-Exercise Muscle Recovery in MMA Fighters: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of human kinetics · 2024Article
- Effects of Warm Compresses on the Perineal Area During the Active Phase of Labor: A Quasi-Experimental Study.Cureus · 2024Article
- Optimal Duration of Cold and Heat Compression for Forearm Muscle Biomechanics in Mixed Martial Arts Athletes: A Comparative Study.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2024Article
- Effects of Perineal Warm Compresses during the Second Stage of Labor on Reducing Perineal Trauma and Relieving Postpartum Perineal Pain in Primiparous Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Assessment of ipsilateral and contralateral perfusion after contrast compression therapy of upper limb muscles in MMA athletes - a cross-over study.Frontiers in physiology · 2024Article
- Childbirth Preparation: Knowledge of the Use of Non-Pharmacological Pain Relief Methods during Childbirth in Tshwane District, South Africa: A Cross-Sectional Study.Nursing reports (Pavia, Italy) · 2023Article
- Non-Pharmacological Pain Management in Labor: A Systematic Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionHeat therapy may help in reducing pain during labor as it blocks the receptors of pain, according to gate control theory. This systematic review and meta-analysis study aims to evaluate the effect of heat therapy (HT) systematically and critically on pain intensity, duration of labor during the first stage of labor and Apgar scores.
methodsWe searched for randomized controlled trials published until October 2020 in PubMed/Medline, EMBASE, ClinicalKey, Ovid Discovery, and other sources. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing heat therapy with standard treatment were selected.
resultsOut of 7625 screened, 10 studies met the inclusion criteria. The results of pooled data have shown that heat therapy was significantly effective in reducing pain intensity in the first stage of labor (standard mean difference, SMD= -1.31; 95% CI: -1.88 - -0.73; p<0.001). Heat therapy had significantly reduced the duration of the first stage of labor (pooled MD= -50.09; 95% CI: -89.70-10.48; p=0.01) and was also superior to the standard therapy group in terms of better Apgar scores at the 5th minute of birth of the newborn (pooled MD= -0.10; 95% CI: -0.19-0.02; p=0.02).
conclusionsCurrent evidence shows that heat therapy effectively decreases labor pain intensity and shortens the duration of labor in the first stage, and it can be used as nonpharmacological management for labor pain.
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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.