Randomized controlled trial to assess the effectiveness of perineal massage during the second stage of labour on duration of second stage among intra natal women admitted in a selected Tertiary Care Hospital, Western Maharashtra

Giving birth is a life- changing event and the care that a woman receives during labor has the potential to affect her both physically and emotionally. Prolonged second-stage labour is associated with increased maternal and neonatal morbidity, including postpartum hemorrhage, perineal trauma, and fetal distress. Perineal massage has been proposed as an effective intervention to reduce the duration of the second stage of labour by promoting perineal elasticity and stimulating oxytocin release. Objective: This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of perineal massage in reducing the duration of the second stage of labour among intranatal mothers. Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted in a tertiary care hospital in Western Maharashtra. Sixty participants were assigned into two blocks: primigravida (30) and multigravida (30). Each block was further divided into experimental and control groups through random allocation. The experimental group received perineal massage during the second stage of labour, while the control group received routine care. Outcome measure was the duration of the second stage of labour. Data were analyzed using independent t-tests and Chi-square tests. Results: There was no clinical and statistically significant difference in duration of first stage of labour between experimental and control group in primigravida and multigravida at p=0.46 and at p = 0.22 respectively. However the duration of second stage of labour was significantly lower in the massage group in primigravida block at level of significance p