Hydrotherapy in Pain Management in Pregnant Women: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials
Metadata
Show full item recordAuthor
Mellado García, Elena; Díaz Rodríguez, Consuelo Lourdes; Cortés Martín, Jonathan; Sánchez García, Juan Carlos; Piqueras Sola, Beatriz; Prieto Franganillo, María Montserrat; Rodríguez Blanque, RaquelEditorial
MDPI
Materia
hydrotherapy waterbirth immersion
Date
2024-05-31Referencia bibliográfica
Mellado García, E. et. al. J. Clin. Med. 2024, 13, 3260. [https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm13113260]
Abstract
Background: the benefits of water are significant during the birth process. Improved maternal
experience of labor, less use of epidurals, better pain management, shorter labor, and a greater sense
of control are observed during the birth process. Objective: This report aims to determine the benefits
of hydrotherapy in clinical childbirth approaches and its applicability in pain control. Methods: A
meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials selected from various databases with no publication date
limits was conducted, comparing groups that did not use hydrotherapy with groups that did during
labor. Results: Seven articles met the inclusion criteria, with five articles using hot water immersion
and two using hot water shower as hydrotherapy treatments. This study identified 840 participants,
with the intervention groups including 417 term pregnant women and the control groups including
423 pregnant women. The effect size of hydrotherapy on pain was calculated using the visual analog
scale in five articles and analgesic use in the other two articles. Hydrotherapy significantly reduced
pain during labor with a mean difference of −0.97 (95% CI: −1.91 to −0.03; I2 = 97.32%, p < 0.001). The
duration of the first stage of labor was not significantly affected, with a mean difference of −0.17 h (95%
CI: −0.55 to 0.21; I2 = 56.75%, p = 0.059). Additionally, hydrotherapy did not significantly impact the
newborns’ Apgar scores at 5 min, with a mean difference of 0.18 (95% CI: −0.48 to 0.85; I2 = 2.15%,
p = 0.939). Conclusions: Hydrotherapy is beneficial for pain control in the first stage of labor and does
not increase its duration or negatively affect the Apgar score of newborns.