Non-pharmacological measures for pain relief in childbirth: a systematic review

Abstract

Objectives: to evaluate the effectiveness of non-pharmacological measures used by obstetric nurses to relieve pain during labor. Methods: this is a systematic review of the databases carried out in the United States National Library of Medicine, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Heal Literature, Scopus, Web of Science and Latin American and Caribbean Literature in Health Sciences, the descriptors were: labor pain, labor, obstetric and obstetric nursing. The search and selection followed the PRISMA recommendations, were carried out from August to September 2020, and randomized clinical trials were eligible and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: 17 clinical trials made up the final sample, which highlight the use of non-pharmacological measures with diversified benefits for labor, namely: thermal therapy (20%); massage/sacral massage (15%); Swiss ball exercises (15%); acupressure (15%); auriculotherapy (10%); music therapy (10%); aromatherapy (5%); acupuncture (5%); and dance (5%). Conclusion: the non-pharmacological measures found in this review are efficient to promote pain reduction during labor, associated with a decrease in the use of drug interventions.