Physiotherapeutic strategies for pain relief during labor

Abstract

Humanized childbirth is advocated by the World Health Organization (WHO) to ensure maternal and newborn health, reduce mortality rates in this population and restrict the use of technological resources. The physiotherapist is the professional qualified to accompany the parturient in labor, guaranteeing her protagonism and offering resources and non-pharmacological techniques for the promotion of analgesia, safety and comfort. The objective of this study is to perform a bibliographic review to identify the main strategies used in physiotherapeutic assistance during labor and humanized labor for pain relief. For this purpose, a bibliographic review was carried out between November 2017 and April 2018 in the PubMed, Academic Google, Capes Periodicals, LILACS and SCIELO databases for the last 10 years, by randomized clinical trials, bibliographic reviews and meta-analyzes of random effects, in addition to official manuals of the Ministry of Health. The selection of eligible articles and the evaluation of their methodological quality were done independently by two reviewers, and the keywords used were: 'physiotherapy'; 'humanized birth'; 'Labor pain'; and 'labor', and their correlates in the English language: 'physical therapy'; 'Humanized labor'; 'Labor pain'; and 'labor'. The physiotherapeutic strategies used during labor and humanized labor for pain relief were from Western to Eastern techniques, such as Swiss ball positioning and walking, respiratory perception, relaxation, TENS, massage, hot baths, cryotherapy, reflexology, auriculotherapy, acupuncture and acupressure.