DIFFERENCES IN THE EFFECTIVENESS OF EAR MASSAGE, DEEP BREATH RELAXATION, AND GUIDE IMAGERY IN REDUCING LABOR PAIN

Background: Labor and birth are physiological processes of women. Although it is natural for women, but in general, the process is accompanied by severe pain and sometimes even lead to life-threatening. Childbirth pain is a problem that receives proper attention from nurses. Many alternative and complementary methods besides the use of drugs, can be applied to reduce pain. The methods applied include a holistic approach to ear massage, deep breathing relaxation, and guided imagery. Research method: This research is a quasi experiment. The research design used in this study is the "pre test and post test group design experiment" research by collecting data twice, namely before and after treatment. Results: From the analysis results obtained p value<0.05 indicating the three variables give the effect of the difference in pain between before and after the intervention. The difference in mean between the three interventions, ear massage and guide imagery have the same effect of reducing pain scale. However, if observed from the large value, imagery guide is the most effective in reducing labour pain. This is because the guide imagery can minimise labor pain by up to 12 times, while ear massage reduces labor pain by up to 10 times and breathing relaxation in reducing labor pain by up to 8 times. Conclusion: There is an effect of ear massage, deep breathing relaxation and guide imagery in reducing labor pain. Keywords: ear massage, deep breathing relaxation, and guide imagery, labor pain