Effectiveness of Paced Breathing Exercise on Labor Pain Perception among Primi mothers during First Stage of Labor Mrs. Leethial S.1,*, Prof. Mrs. Solomon Reeta Jebakumari2 1Student, OBG Department, Thasiah College of Nursing, Vellivilagam, Marthandam 2Principal of Thasiah College of Nursing, Vellivillagam, Marthandam *Corresponding Author E-mail: leethiyal88@gmail.com
Online published on 31 October, 2018. Abstract Background of the study Child birth includes both labor and delivery. Pain during labor is caused by contractions of the muscles of the uterus and by pressure on the cervix. As pain and discomfort increase, women may be tempted to request pain medications. They will not act to slow down or stop the labor. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Paced breathing exercise on labor pain perception among primi mothers during first stage of labor in selected hospitals at Kanyakumari district. Materials and methods The design adopted was quasi experimental, non-equivalent control group pre-test post-test design. The sample consisted of 60 mothers, 30 in experimental group and 30 in control group. The purposive sampling technique was used to select the samples. The tools used for data collection procedure was demographic data and Wong-Baker facial grimace scale. Paced breathing exercise was administered to those in the experimental group and post-test was done in both experimental and control group. Result The mean post-test level of labor pain perception among primi mothers during first stage of labor in experimental group at observation I, II, III are 4.93, 6.13, 7.96 respectively were lesser than the mean pre-test score at observation I, II, III are 7.06, 7.86, 9.6 respectively (MD of 3 observations=2.13, 1.73, 1.64., t=5.18, 4.06, 4.22., P<0.05). Whereas the mean post-test level of labor pain perception among primi mothers during first stage of labor in control group at observation I, II, III are 7.33, 8.93, 10 respectively were greater than the mean pre-test score at observation I, II, III are 7.0, 7.6, 9.46 respectively (MD of 3 observations=-0.33, -1.33, -0.54., t=-1.33, -3.2, -3.81., P<0.05). This proves that due to the effect of paced breathing exercise the mean post-test level of labor pain perception among primi mothers in experimental group had marked reduction. Conclusion The study concluded that paced breathing exercise is an effective non pharmacological intervention for reducing labor pain perception. Top Keywords Effectiveness, Paced breathing exercise, Labor pain perception, Primi mothers, First stage of labor. Top |