1. No category

Using the birth ball for pain relief during
induction of labour
Julita Fernández Arranz 1; Eva González Martínez 2; Rocío Rivas Martín 3; Paloma Gil Sánchez 4; Cristina del Barrio Cortés 5; María
Goretti González Martínez 6; Laura Pedraza Piedrola 7.
Birthing balls have been used for years to properly exercise and rehabilitate patients in physical therapy.
The birthing ball has now found a new home in birthing centers and labour wards across the country.
This tool can be effective for pain relief during labor and childbirth besides a few more beneficial effects
during labour
Materials and Methods :
The study was performed at Gregorio Marañón
Hospital birth centre. A Randomised Clinical Trial
comparing the two methods of pain relief in inducction
labour was carried out. In order to accomplice the
study, we chose 20 primiparous women in the first
stage of labour after being induced. They were
allocated in two study groups by a randomised block
design. One of them used the birth ball as a pain relief
method,and the other one used pethidine and
haloperidol injection.
Summary Results:
Women who asked for pain relief during the first
stage of labour, were asked by their midwives
about pain perception and this was reflected on the
the VAS – Visual Annalogical Scale – from 0 to 10pain score scale. According to the study group they
were included in, they received either a birth ball or
a subcutaneous pethidine and haloperidol injection.
30 minutes post intervention, the midwife asked
again about their pain perception and registered it
again in the VAS scale.The experimental group
had a pain relief score of 2 according to the VAS
scale, in comparison to the control group which had
only 1 The experimental Group of women who
used birth balls had shorter first-stage labour
duration (X=11h and x=13.5 h) and less need for
further pain relief in comparison to the control
group which required more pain relief and had a
10
13.5
11
Pethidine
Birth ball
longer first stage.
Conclusions
Clinical implementation use of thebirth ball exercises during first stage of labour could be an effective tool to reduce
pain and delivery time for women during induced labour.
Bibliography
(1) Leung RW, Li JF, Leung MK, Fung BK, Fung LC, Tai SM, et al. Efficacy of birth ball exercises on labour pain management. Hong Kong Med J 2013 Oct;19(5):393-399.
(2) Schult TM, Awosika ER, Schmunk SK, Hodgson MJ, Heymach BL, Parker CD. Sitting on stability balls: biomechanics evaluation in a workplace setting. Journal of
occupational and environmental hygiene 2013;10(2):55-63.
(3) Delgado-García BE, Orts-Cortés MI, Poveda-Bernabeu A, Caballero-Pérez P. Ensayo clínico controlado y aleatorizado para determinar los efectos del uso de pelotas de
parto durante el trabajo de parto. Enfermería Clínica 2012;22(1):35-40.
(4) HAU W, PGD MN, MAN LS, Lai-Fong H, RM MN, LAI F, et al. The use of birth ball as a method of pain management in labour. Hong Kong J Gynaecol Obstet Midwifery
2012;12:63-68.
(5) Gau M, Chang C, Tian S, Lin K. Effects of birth ball exercise on pain and self-efficacy during childbirth: a randomised controlled trial in Taiwan. Midwifery
2011;27(6):e293-e300.
(6) Perez P. Birth balls:use of a physical therapy balls in maternity care. Vermont: Cutting Edge Press; 2000.
(7) LI W, FHKCOG FO. The Birth Ball Experience: Outcome Evaluation of the Intrapartum Use of Birth Ball.
(8) Luces Lago AM, Mosquera Pan L, Tizón Bouza E. La pelota de Parto. Rev ROL enferm 2014;3(37):188-194.
(9) Cots Paltor M, Jiménez Barragán M, Castán Enseñat E, Martínez Madrigal M, Oliva Santin A, Moreno Quiroga C. Beneficios de la pelota de partos (birth ball) en la sala
de partos. Metas de Enfermería 2010;13(9):62-65.
(10) Pérez M, Sánchez M, Ramírez MC., Sánchez. A., Gómez A., Martínez E. La introducción del uso de la pelota en el paritorio. Paraninfo Digital 2012.