Effect of the Presence of Family Members, During the First Stage of Labor, on Childbirth Outcomes in a Provincial Hospital in Songkhla Province, Thailand
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Date
2010-03-30
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The Thailand Nursing Council
Abstract
In Thailand, most public hospitals do not allow family members of pregnant women to be present during intrapartum. Thus, women, during labor and delivery, have to face childbirth in an unfamiliar environment surrounded only by strangers. The purpose of this study, in Songkla Province, was to compare between women, who had a relative present during the first stage of intrapartum and those who did not, anxiety levels, labor pain, satisfaction with the childbirth experience, duration of the first stage of labor, type of delivery, use of Pethidine and the babies’ Apgar scores at 1 and 5 minutes. A quasi-experimental design was implemented using 114 pregnant women (experimental group n=56; control group n=58). Four questionnaires and a visual analog scale were used for data collection. Content validity of each questionnaire was judged by five experts in intrapartum care. To assure reliability of the questionnaires and feasibility of the research procedure, a pilot study was conducted using the questionnaires with 20 postpartum women. Data analyses were accomplished using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings revealed a significant difference in anxiety scores between the experimental and control groups. No other significant differences were found. The results suggest having a relative present, during intrapartum, reduces a women’s anxiety. However, the findings did not support the positive effect of having a relative present during intrapartum, regarding other childbirth outcomes.
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Thai Journal of Nursing Research; Vol.13 No.1 January-March 2009; 16-27