%0 Journal Article
%T Comparison of the Effects of Maternal Supportive Care and Acupressure (BL32 Acupoint) on Pregnant Women¡¯s Pain Intensity and Delivery Outcome
%A Marzieh Akbarzadeh
%A Zahra Masoudi
%A Mohammad Javad Hadianfard
%A Maryam Kasraeian
%A Najaf Zare
%J Journal of Pregnancy
%D 2014
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2014/129208
%X Delivery is considered as one of the most painful experiences of women¡¯s life. The present study aimed to compare the effects of supportive care and acupressure on the pregnant women¡¯s pain intensity and delivery outcome. In this experimental study, 150 pregnant women were randomly divided into supportive care, acupressure, and control groups. The intensity of pain was measured using Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). The supportive care group received both physical and emotional cares. In the acupressure group, on the other hand, BL32 acupoint was pressed during the contractions. Then, the data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The results revealed significant difference among the three groups regarding the intensity of pain after the intervention ( ). Besides, the highest rate of natural vaginal delivery was observed in the supportive care group (94%) and the acupressure group (92%), while the highest rate of cesarean delivery was related to the control group (40%) and the difference was statistically significant ( ). The results showed that maternal supportive care and acupressure during labor reduced the intensity of pain and improved the delivery outcomes. Therefore, these methods can be introduced to the medical team as effective strategies for decreasing delivery pain. This trial is registered with the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trial Code IRCT2014011011706N5. 1. Introduction Delivery is one of the most important phenomena of a woman¡¯s life. Delivery pain does not result from tissue trauma or damage; rather, it is a part of a unique physiological process [1]. The main factors in delivery pain are cervical dilatation and uterine contractions [2]. Severe delivery pain leads to the mother¡¯s emotional turmoil and disturbs her mental health. It also has several negative effects on maternal and fetal physiological status as well as the delivery progress, including increase of oxygen consumption, increase of pulmonary ventilation, increase of cardiac output, delayed gastric emptying, inefficiency of uterine contractions, prolonged labor, decrease in uterine perfusion, fetal hypoxia, and metabolic acidosis, leading to obstetric interventions and their resultant complications [3]. Consequently, fear and anxiety resulting from delivery pain increase the mother¡¯s pain and discomfort during the delivery process [4]. In the study performed by Lee et al. (2001), pregnant women mentioned severe pain as the most important factor in fear from delivery [5]. Thus, reduction of delivery pain is of great importance for decreasing the negative
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jp/2014/129208/