BACKGROUND

Massageis one of the non-pharmacologic methods used to control pain and help pregnant women cope with the pain and positively affect labor.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of foot massage in pregnant women during labor, labor pain, the duration of the delivery, interventions, postpartum bleeding and the emotional state of the mother.

DESIGN

This study was designedas a randomized controlled experimental study.

SETTING

The research was carried out in primipara women who cameto the clinic for childbirth in Karaman State Hospital, Turkey, between December 2016 and May 2017.

PATIENTS

Patients comprised 80 primiparous women who were randomly assigned to either the intervention (foot massage) group (n = 40) or the control group (n = 40) in accordance with the study criteria.

INTERVENTION

Routine nursing care was provided in both groups during the latent labor phase; all women signed an informed consent form. In the first phase of birth, the intervention group received a classic foot massage for 20 minutes on each foot at 3 different times, for a total of 60 minutes (cervical dilatation was 4-5 cm, 6-7 cm and 8-9 cm during this phase).

OUTCOME MEASURES

Data were obtained by using an information form to gather demographic and obstetric characteristics, the labor assessment form for labor and birth records, the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) to evaluate labor pain severity, an observation-based form for emotional behavior during labor and the Labor Agentry Scale (LAS) to evaluate the emotional state of the mothers.

RESULTS

We found that the pain severity in women who received the foot massage decreased after the intervention according to their VAS scores, and they experienced less pain in the postpartum period. In addition, in the intervention group, it was observed that the second and third stages of labor were shorter, the women showed less negative behavioral responses during delivery and were satisfied with their foot massage.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, it was determined that foot massage could be effective and reliable intervention in the management of labor pain.