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Self‐hypnosis for coping with labour pain: a randomised controlled trial
Author(s) -
Werner A,
Uldbjerg N,
Zachariae R,
Rosen G,
Nohr EA
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
bjog: an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.157
H-Index - 164
eISSN - 1471-0528
pISSN - 1470-0328
DOI - 10.1111/1471-0528.12087
Subject(s) - hypnosis , childbirth , medicine , randomized controlled trial , physical therapy , pain relief , confidence interval , relaxation (psychology) , pregnancy , anesthesia , alternative medicine , surgery , pathology , biology , genetics
Objective To estimate the use of epidural analgesia and experienced pain during childbirth after a short antenatal training course in self‐hypnosis to ease childbirth. Design Randomised, controlled, single‐blinded trial using a three‐arm design. Setting A arhus U niversity H ospital S kejby in D enmark during the period J uly 2009 until A ugust 2011. Population A total of 1222 healthy nulliparous women. Method Use of epidural analgesia and self‐reported pain during delivery was compared in three groups: a hypnosis group receiving three 1‐hour lessons in self‐hypnosis with additional audiorecordings to ease childbirth, a relaxation group receiving three 1‐hour lessons in various relaxation methods and mindfulness with audiorecordings for additional training, and a usual care group receiving ordinary antenatal care only. Main outcome measures Primary outcome: Use of epidural analgesia. Secondary outcomes included self‐reported pain. Results There were no between‐group differences in use of epidural analgesia—31.2% (95% confidence interval [95% CI ] 27.1–35.3) in the hypnosis group, 29.8% (95% CI 25.7–33.8) in the relaxation group and 30.0% (95% CI 24.0–36.0) in the control group. No statistically significant differences between the three groups were observed for any of the self‐reported pain measures. Conclusion In this large randomised controlled trial of a brief course in self‐hypnosis to ease childbirth, no differences in use of epidural analgesia or pain experience were found across study groups. Before turning down self‐hypnosis as a method for pain relief, further studies are warranted with focus on specific subgroups.