Effect of Different Birthing Positions during the Second Stage of Labor on Mother's Experiences Regarding Birth, Pain, Anxiety and Fatigue

Background and Giving birth to a child is a critical stage in a woman’s life. Second stage of labor is extraordinary painful that requires a lot of energy and the mother is highly involved with stress, anxiety, and fatigue. There is a controversy over suitable position during this stage, so this study was performed to compare the effects of different positions during the second stage of labor on mother’s experiences regarding birth, pain, anxiety, and fatigue. This quasi-experimental study was conducted in 148 women referring to Taleghani Hospital in Arak during 2009 to 2010. The recruited cases were 37-42 weeks primiparous women with singletone pregnancy. They were randomly allocated for one of three groups including lithotomy position (n= 49), squatting position (n= 49), and kneeling position (n= 50). All participants were located in defined positions after completing dilatation and effacement. Then, mother’s experiences regarding pain, anxiety, and fatigue were assessed. Social and demographic status questionnaire and obstetric profile form were completed for all participants. The results showed no significant differences in the severity of pain, anxiety, and fatigue in admission time and the face of maximum slope (P> 0.05). Also, mothers’ feeling towards birth, satisfaction with position, their interest in a particular position for next birth, and severity of pain at delivery were not significantly different among all groups (P> 0.05). Building a positive birth experience and satisfaction with delivery are amongst the puroises of any obstetrics team. The results of present study did not prove the efficacy of upright positions in women's experiences of birth. However, the freedom to adopt positions could positively influence mother's experiences during labor.