Labor Pain Management in Ethiopia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Objectives: Labor pain is a subjective phenomenon that varies based on women's expectations. To have a positive childbirth experience, laboring women should have pain relief based on their request. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the utilization of labor pain management and associated factors among obstetric caregivers in Ethiopia DATA SOURCES: Different electronic databases (i.e., PubMed, Scopus, Embase, CINAHL, DOAJ, Web of Science, MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, ScienceDirect, and CAB Abstracts) were searched for published studies, whereas Google Scholar and Google Search were used for unpublished studies.

Review/analysis methods: Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines were used throughout this work. Duplicate results were removed using EndNote X8. Quality was assessed by the JBI tool. Stata 17 was used for analysis. A random effects model was used, and the results were presented using a forest plot. Heterogeneity and publication bias were evaluated using Cochran's Q test and I² test.

Results: The pooled utilization of pharmacological pain management was 28% (95% CI [12, 43]), whereas the pooled estimate of nonpharmacological pain management was 43% (95% CI [37, 49]). Obstetric care provider attitude was positively associated with both pharmacological and nonpharmacological labor pain management (adjusted odds ratio = 1.73, 95% CI [1.20, 2.26], adjusted odds ratio = 2.94, 95% CI [2.01, 3.87], respectively).

Conclusions: Labor pain management utilization among obstetric care providers in Ethiopia was poor. Health care provider attitude was positively associated with labor pain management. On-site training was recommended for obstetric care providers to improve the practice of labor pain management. © 20XX by the American Society for Pain Management Nursing.

Keywords: Ethiopia; Labor pain; Non pharmacologic; Pharmacologic.