Kaisernetwork.org Daily Reproductive Health Report ~ September 23, 2003

Women who receive supportive care throughout labor are less likely than women without such support to deliver by caesarean section or undergo other medical interventions, according to a study conducted by the Cochrane Collaboration and published in the Cochrane Library, London's Independent reports (Laurance, Independent, 9/24). Elaine Hodnett, professor of nursing at the University of Toronto, and colleagues gathered information from 15 randomized controlled studies that included a total of 12,791 women and compared continuous labor support with standard medical care during delivery (Hodnett et al., Cochrane Library, 7/21). Overall, the women who received continuous labor support were less likely to need an epidural or other anesthesia, undergo delivery by c-section or experience dissatisfaction with their delivery experience. In addition, the study also found that type of person providing the continuous care makes a difference in childbirth outcomes. According to the study, women who received continuous labor support from a person who was not a member of the hospital staff and who was there for the express purpose of providing one-on-one continuous support for the laboring woman were 26% less likely than women without any continuous labor support to give birth by c-section; 41% less likely to give birth using forceps or vacuum extraction; 28% less likely to use analgesia or anesthesia; and 36% less likely to be dissatisfied with or negatively rate the birth experience.

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