Effectiveness of hands-off versus hands-on techniques on perineal trauma and perineal pain among parturient mothers

Abstract

Objective: Labor is the process by which the fetus and the placenta leave the uterus. Delivery can occur in two ways, vaginally or by cesarean delivery. The majority of women who underwent vaginal birth may sustain perineal trauma from a spontaneous perineal tear or episiotomy or both. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of hands-off versus hands-on techniques on perineal trauma and perineal pain among parturient mothers in selected hospitals, Kerala. Methods: The research design adopted for this study was true experimental post-test only design. The study was conducted in three hospitals at Kerala such as Karothukuzhiyil hospital, Lakshmi hospital, and Carmal hospital. The sample size was computed by power analysis based on the previous studies, and it would be a total of 90 samples, with 30 parturient mothers in each group. Simple random sampling technique (Lottery method) was adopted for the selection of parturient mothers into the study. Perineal trauma was assessed by the scale given by Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 2001, and visual analog scale (combined numerical and categorical pain scale) was used to assess the perineal pain of parturient mothers. Results: The results showed that there was extremely significant difference found in perineal trauma and perineal pain of parturient mothers between study Group I and study II at p=0.000 level. The mean scores of study Group I were lesser than the mean scores of study Group II. The parturient mothers in study Group I (hands-off technique) had less perineal trauma and perineal pain than study Group II (hands-on technique). Conclusion: Different perineal techniques and interventions such as hands-on technique, hands-off technique, perineal massage, and warm compresses can be widely used by midwives and birth attendants to prevent perineal trauma during labor.