Midwifery management of pain in labor. The CNM Data Group, 1996.
Joint data collection by nine nurse-midwifery practices in the United States permitted a description of pain management practices with intrapartum patients. Observational data are reported for healthy gravidas at term (N = 4,171). A wide variety of techniques for pain management, including both pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic methods, were used. High prevalence modalities were paced breathing (used by 55.2% of this clinical sample), activity and position change (42.4%), narcotics (30.0%), and epidurals (18.7%). Paced breathing plus narcotics was the most common combination. Variations are reported for subgroups of women according to age, parity, race/ethnicity, education, insurance, marital status, activity in labor, and type of delivery. The only methods associated with a lowered rate of spontaneous delivery were epidurals and intrathecal narcotics.
D000328:Adult; D016362:Analgesia, Obstetrical / Q000379:methods*; D002568:Certification; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008880:Midwifery / Q000379:methods*; D009721:Nurse Midwives; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research; D007744:Obstetric Labor Complications / Q000451:nursing*; D010146:Pain / Q000451:nursing*; D010298:Parity; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011247:Pregnancy; D014481:United States