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
Review
. 2022 Jan 31:74:103312.
doi: 10.1016/j.amsu.2022.103312. eCollection 2022 Feb.

Pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic labor pain management techniques in a resource-limited setting: A systematic review

Amare Anley Beyable  1 , Samuel Debas Bayable  1 , Yitayal Guadie Ashebir  1
Affiliations
Review

Pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic labor pain management techniques in a resource-limited setting: A systematic review

Amare Anley Beyable et al. Ann Med Surg (Lond). .

Abstract

Background: Despite improvement in pain management programs, labor pain is mostly ignored especially in low and middle-income countries.

Methods: The aim of this study is to establish a clear clinical working guideline for labor pain management in resource limited settings. This systematic review is conducted in line with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guideline 2020. After formulating clear criteria for the evidences to be included an appropriate method of searching was conducted by using the Pub Med, Google scholar and Cochrane library using the following MeSH terms: ('Parenteral opioids' AND' Labor pain', 'Labor' AND 'Pain management, 'Non-pharmacologic methods 'AND 'Labor pain', 'Labor pain management AND massage therapy). The study quality of literatures was categorized based on WHO 2011 level of evidence and degree of recommendation. Final conclusions and recommendations are done with the analysis of risk and benefits of alternative management strategies for non-regional techniques of labor pain management. The study is registered with research registry unique identifying number (UIN) of 1267 "https://www.researchregistry.com/browse-the-registry#registryofsystematicreviewsmeta-analyses/." and the study is moderate based on AMSTAR 2 quality assessment criteria/https://amstar.ca/Amstar_Checklist.php.

Discussion: Combined forms of Non-pharmacologic and selected low dose pharmacologic approaches of labor pain management, provides significant benefits to women and their infants. During provision of labor analgesia complications may happen and the service provider should involve in the management of those complications.

Conclusion: This study has a paramount importance to practice the most reliable, available and cost effective method of labor analgesia.

Keywords: IM, Intramuscular; IV, Intravenous; Labor pain management; Massage therapy; Non-pharmacologic methods; PRISMA, Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses; Parenteral opioids.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

No conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow chart for selection of studies using 2020 PRISMA flow diagram.
Image 1
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Reynolds F., Sharma S.K., Seed P.T. Analgesia in labour and fetal acid–base balance: a meta-analysis comparing epidural with systemic opioid analgesia. BJOG An Int. J. Obstet. Gynaecol. 2002;109(12):1344–1353. - PubMed
    1. Gabbe S.G., Niebyl J.R., Simpson J.L., Landon M.B., Galan H.L., Jauniaux E.R., et al. Elsevier Health Sciences; 2016. Obstetrics: Normal and Problem Pregnancies E-Book.
    1. Czech I., Fuchs P., Fuchs A., Lorek M., Tobolska-Lorek D., Drosdzol-Cop A., et al. Pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods of labour pain relief—establishment of effectiveness and comparison. Int. J. Environ. Res. Publ. Health. 2018;15(12):2792. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lawani L.O., Eze J.N., Anozie O.B., Iyoke C.A., Ekem N.N. Obstetric analgesia for vaginal birth in contemporary obstetrics: a survey of the practice of obstetricians in Nigeria. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2014;14(1):1–6. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Allman K., Wilson I., O'Donnell A. Oxford university press; 2016. Oxford Handbook of Anaesthesia.