Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2016 Jun 10;6(6):e010761.
doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2015-010761.

Effect of antenatal education in small classes versus standard auditorium-based lectures on use of pain relief during labour and of obstetric interventions: results from the randomised NEWBORN trial

Carina Sjöberg Brixval  1 , Lau Caspar Thygesen  1 , Solveig Forberg Axelsen  1 , Christian Gluud  2 , Per Winkel  2 , Jane Lindschou  2 , Tom Weber  3 , Pernille Due  1 , Vibeke Koushede  1
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Effect of antenatal education in small classes versus standard auditorium-based lectures on use of pain relief during labour and of obstetric interventions: results from the randomised NEWBORN trial

Carina Sjöberg Brixval et al. BMJ Open. .

Abstract

Objective: To examine the effect of an antenatal education programme in small classes versus standard auditorium-based lectures.

Design: Randomised trial using random-generated web-based 1:1 allocation.

Setting: The largest birth site in the Capital Region of Denmark, from August 2012 to May 2014.

Participants: 1766 pregnant women. Inclusion criteria ≥18 years, pregnant with a single child, and able to speak and understand Danish. Women were enrolled in the trial from 10+0 to 20+0 weeks of gestation.

Interventions: The intervention programme consisted of three times 2.5 hours of antenatal education in small classes (n=6-8 women), and focused on improving information and problem-solving skills for expectant parents in order to ease birth and the transition to parenthood. The control group received standard auditorium-based lectures consisting of two times 2 hours in an auditorium with participation of ∼250 people.

Main outcome measures: The primary trial outcome was use of epidural analgesia. Other types of pain relief and obstetric interventions were analysed as explorative outcomes.

Results: There was no statistically significant difference in use of epidural analgesia between participants in the intervention group (30.9%) versus the control group (29.1%), adjusted OR 1.10 (95% CI 0.87 to 1.34). Also, the two groups did not differ regarding other types of pain relief or obstetric interventions. Concomitant birth preparation was common in both groups and highest in the control group, but did not seem to influence our results noticeably.

Conclusions: Antenatal education in small groups versus standard auditorium-based lectures did not differ regarding use of epidural analgesia, other pain relief, or obstetric interventions.

Trial registration number: NCT01672437; Results.

Keywords: Antenatal education; EPIDEMIOLOGY; OBSTETRICS; PUBLIC HEALTH.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow diagram of recruitment, randomisation and participation in the NEWBORN trial.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Ahlden I, Ahlehagen S, Dahlgren LO et al. . Parents’ expectations about participating in antenatal parenthood education classes. J Perinat Educ 2012;21:11–17. 10.1891/1058-1243.21.1.11 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Gagnon AJ, Sandall J. Individual or group antenatal education for childbirth or parenthood, or both. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2007;(3):CD002869. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Brixval CS, Axelsen SF, Lauemøller SG et al. . The effect of antenatal education in small classes on obstetric and psycho-social outcomes-a systematic review. Syst Rev 2015;4:1–9. 10.1186/s13643-015-0010-x - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Anim-Somuah M, Smyth RM, Jones L. Epidural versus non-epidural or no analgesia in labour. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2011;(12):CD000331 10.1002/14651858.CD000331.pub3 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Zimmer EZ, Jakobi P, Itskovitz-Eldor J et al. . Adverse effects of epidural analgesia in labor. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol 2000;89:153–7. 10.1016/S0301-2115(99)00191-8 - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

Associated data