Sacral Massage With a Tennis Ball on Labor Pain and Comfort During the Intrapartum Period

The Effect of Sacral Massage With a Tennis Ball on Labor Pain and Comfort During the Intrapartum Period

Although pregnancy and labor are physiological events, the pain caused by uterine contractions during labor is among the most severe pains. This causes many women to fear labor. For this reason, control of labor pain should be one of the main goals of the care given to women in labor. Therefore, this study was designed to determine the effect of sacral massage with a tennis ball on labor pain and labor comfort in the intrapartum period.

Pregnant women hospitalized in the maternity unit will be evaluated for compliance with the inclusion criteria. Women who meet the inclusion criteria and are willing to participate in the study will be randomized according to the simple random numbers table and the study group will be determined by the researcher by drawing lots. The purpose and stages of the study will be explained verbally to the women whose group is determined and the women will be asked to read and sign the Informed Voluntary Consent Form. Then, the Pregnancy Identification Form will be filled in by the researchers using the face-to-face interview method. Then the massage will be explained to the pregnant women in the experimental group and they will be asked to evaluate the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) before the procedure. While performing this application, the researcher will apply pressure to the sacral region with a tennis ball in a circular motion in a way that the patient can feel but not feel pain. The application will be applied to the pregnant woman for a total of 3 contractions. 30 minutes after each procedure, the woman will be asked to mark the intensity of the pain she feels on the VAS scale and to mark the Birth Comfort Scale.

Inclusion Criteria:

• To be able to read and write Turkish,
• Being over 18 years old
• Being primiparous
• Singular foetus and head presentation
• Pregnancy at term (37-42 weeks)
• Those without risk factors during pregnancy
• Being in the active phase of labour in stage 1
• Women without any chronic diseases
• Those without a diagnosed psychiatric illness
• To agree to participate in the research

Exclusion Criteria:

• If the participant wishes to leave the study voluntarily
• Administration of any analgesic medication to reduce pain during labour
• Development of any of the unexpected maternal-fetal risk conditions during labour
• Having a caesarean section for any reason
• The pregnant woman has spine and bone structure problems.