The Effect of Reflexology on Pain Intensity of Labor

Background and Objective: labor pain management is one of the difficulties in most countries. Pharmacological methods for pain relief during labor has many side effects whereas reflexology as one of the non-pharmacological methods for pain relief, is an ancient and noninvasive technique, but there is not enough information on its effect on pain intensity of delivery. Therefore, this research was conducted to determine the effect of reflexology on pain intensity of labor on primeparous in Shahid Akbarabadi hospital in 2009. Materials and Methods: A randomized clinical trial study was designed. A total of 120 parturient women with low risk pregnancy were randomly assigned into three groups. Each group received one of the following treatments: reflexology, support or routine care only. In all groups pregnant women asked to evaluate their severity of pain before and after the intervention and also in 6-7 and 8-10 cm of cervical dilatation. Data was collected through numerical pain scale. Results: Confounding factors were equal in all three groups. Pain intensity in all three dilatation stages was significantly lower in reflexology group (p less-than 0.001), but comparison between the supported group and routine care group, severity of pain was lower in supported group just in 4-5 cm dilatation, but during 6-7 and 8-10cm of dilatation there was no significant difference between these two groups. Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, it seems that reflexology can decrease the pain intensity in first stage of labor.