Effectiveness of Warm Compression at the Lumbosacral Region on Labor Pain Intensity During the First Stage of Labor Among Parturient Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Introduction: Labor pain is a fundamental, complex, and subjective experience during childbirth, characterized by severe discomfort that can be difficult for many women to tolerate.There are many nonpharmacological therapies available for the relief of labor pain, such as aromatherapy, music therapy, acupressure, yoga, breathing exercises, etc.The present study was undertaken to assess the effectiveness of warm compression at the lumbosacral region on the intensity of labor pain during the first stage of labor.Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted at the labor room of a tertiary care hospital in central India from October to November 2023 among 50 parturient women without any pregnancy-related complications, recruited through a convenience sampling technique and allocated randomly into interventional (n = 25) and control (n = 25) groups using sequentially numbered opaque sealed envelopes (SNOSE).The interventional group received warm compression at the lumbosacral region (L5-S1), given twice for a duration of 20 minutes with an interval of 30 minutes in the active stage of labor, whereas the control group received routine obstetrical care.The effectiveness of the intervention was measured by assessing the pain intensity before and immediately after the first and second warm compression and 30 minutes after the second warm compression using the visual analogue scale (VAS).The collected data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 24 (Released 2016; IBM Corp., Armonk, New York, United States).Results: Both groups were homogeneous in terms of sociodemographic and clinical characteristics (p > 0.05).No significant difference was found between the intervention and control groups before and immediately after the first warm compression (p > 0.05).However, a significant difference was found immediately and after 30 minutes of the second warm compression (p < 0.05).Conclusions: Warm compression is an easy, effective, and midwife-led method to reduce pain and enhance comfort in the first stage, helping women stay relaxed and participate actively in childbirth.It promotes caregiver support and enhances overall satisfaction with the birthing experience.