A Descriptive Study of Non-Pharmacological Interventions in Early Labor in Nulliparous Term Singleton Vertex (NTSV) Women

Introduction: Positional changes may contribute to progression of labor in nulliparous women. We investigated the use of non-invasive, non-pharmacological interventions during the first stage of labor in nulliparous, term, singleton, vertex (NTSV) women at a community hospital in the U.S. Another aim was to compare the times from the first intervention to completion of the first stage of labor across three interventions. Methods: Ours was a descriptive, retrospective study of 98 NTSV women from January to June 2025. Descriptive and inferential statistics were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 27. Results: Most women were Hispanic (71%), averaging 31 years old (SD = 4.66), with a mean gestational age of 39 weeks (SD = 1.31). Kruskal-Wallis testing indicated a statistically significant difference in mean duration of labor in minutes across the three groups, Χ2(2, 97) = 54.94, p < .001. Pairwise comparisons using Dunn-Bonferroni corrections revealed that the mean rank for the peanut ball group was significantly lower than the CUB device (p < .001) and the WMFMS (p < .001). The peanut ball group was associated with a shorter duration for the completion of first-stage labor by 811 minutes over the wireless maternal fetal monitoring group, and by 679 minutes over the comfortable upright birth device group. Discussion: Routine implementation of non-invasive, non-pharmacological interventions to support nulliparous women with positional changes that may contribute to a positive birthing experience are needed. Interventions that encourage a non-supine posture and movement during the first stage of labor should be advocated.