Date
7-15-2024
Department
School of Nursing
Degree
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
Chair
Vickie Moore
Keywords
nurse-midwife-led education, birth satisfaction, water immersion, hydrotherapy, labor
Disciplines
Nursing
Recommended Citation
Taylor, Dana E., "Improving Use of Water Immersion and Birth Satisfaction During the First Stage of Labor Through an Educational Handout" (2024). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 5810.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/5810
Abstract
Although using the birthing tub for hydrotherapy during the first stage of labor has been proven to be a safe and effective method of low-intervention pain management, as well as research that indicates potential other benefits such as a reduction in the use of an epidural, improvement in breastfeeding rates, and promotion of physiologic birth, its use is often limited. Chief reasons for the lack of its use include difficulty and time constraints with tub set-up and lack of knowledge about its benefits, especially the length of time used. A quasi-experimental evidence-based project at a suburban magnet-designated hospital using a nurse-midwife-led educational handout intervention offered to women during their 36-week prenatal visit showed significant improvement in knowledge and use of the tub during labor. Additionally, a robust, tested survey tool for assessment after using the tub indicated that women using it for the first stage of labor had high birth satisfaction. The project's findings, which included 11 participants, regarding the three phenomena of interest: improved knowledge about the tub, improved use, and birth satisfaction, all increased and underscored the success of patient education led by nurse-midwives in improving knowledge. Finally, the findings indicated that use of the birthing tub during labor can significantly impact birth satisfaction and may have additional benefits such as an increase in physiologic birth and feelings of empowerment during labor, and education led by a nurse-midwife impacted these improvements.
