The characteristics of labor pain during the active phase of primipara

Abstract

Understanding on the characteristics of labor pain during the first stage of primipara is the first consideration of healthcare providers for pregnant women. The aim of this study was to describe the demographic characteristics and the characteristic of signs and symptoms of labor pain.  One hundred and six subjects (pregnant women) were recruited from labor room, Khon Kaen Hospital. Each of them was evaluated all importance variables such as severity of labor pain (using Visual Analog Scale or VAS ratings), the characteristics of labor pain (using modified McGill pain questionnaire) and the body area of existing musculoskeletal pain (using modified Nordic Questionnaire). Results demonstrated that an average labor pain score was 5.95±1.99, which was classified as moderate level. Most of them (49.06 %) were found in this level. Ninety-five percent of subjects complained as “pain” which was correlated with the results using McGill pain questionnaire that found 90 % and 88 % of the subjects felt “cramping” and “dull” respectively. Considering the area of perceived pain, most of them (96 %) felt pain at the lower abdomen. Additionally, the results from Nordic Questionnaire showed that 80.20% had low back pain where as 49.50% had hip and thigh pain. It was concluded that labor pain during the first stage of primipara had severity of labor pain at a moderate level and the most of painful body-areas were lower abdomen, hip and thighs. Accordingly, this information may be used for considering the alternative-care techniques instead of using pain killer for labor pain.