Birth ball or heat therapy? A randomized controlled trial to compare the effectiveness of birth ball usage with sacrum-perineal heat therapy in labor pain management.

OBJECTIVE Labor pain and its management is a major concern for childbearing women, their families and health care providers. This study aimed to investigate the effects of two non-pharmacological methods such as birth ball and heat therapy on labor pain relief. MATERIAL & METHODS This randomized control trial was undertaken on 90 primiparous women aged 18-35 years old who were randomly assigned to two intervention (birth ball and heat) and control groups. The pain score was recorded by using Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) before the intervention and every 30 min in three groups until cervical dilatation reached 8 cm. RESULTS The mean pain severity score in the heat therapy group was less than that of in control group at 60 and 90 min after intervention (p < 0.05). In addition there were significantly differences between the pain scores in the birth ball group after all three investigated times in comparison to control group. CONCLUSION Both heat therapy and birth ball can use as inexpensive complementary and low risk treatment for labor pain.