Experience of using transcutaneous electrical neurostimulation in pain relief during labor

• Barinov S.V.
• Tirskaya Yu.I.
• Tatyana V. Kadtsyna
• Oksana V. Lazareva
• Yuriy I. Chulovskiy
• Dmitriy M. Kochev
• Evgeniya S. Nadezhina
• Olga L. Verkhorobina

Abstract

The aim of the study: to evaluate the effectiveness of pain relief during spontaneous labor using transcutaneous electrical stimulation in comparison with epidural analgesia.

Material and methods. The study included 64 healthy women in labor. Group 1 (n=34) included patients who received transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) for pain relief during urgent labor. Group 2 (n=30) included patients who received epidural analgesia during labor.

Results. When assessing the severity of the pain syndrome according to the VAS scale, the participants of group I noted a decrease in pain after 30 minutes from 6.7 points (severe pain) to 4.9 points (moderate pain), after 1 hour to 4.5 points, and after 2 hours and until the end of labor – 4 points (mild pain). Participants in group II noted a decrease in pain to 0 points after 30 minutes. In Group I, a statistically significantly higher score on the satisfaction questionnaire (p=0.041) for the medical care provided during labor was noted.

Conclusion. The use of TENS allows 91.2% of women in labor to reduce pain according to the visual analog scale VAS from severe (6.9 points) to mild (4.0 points) and does not require additional medical interventions. When assessing the level of satisfaction in women in labor using TENS compared to women in labor using epidural anesthesia, the sum of scores on the satisfaction questionnaire was significantly higher (p=0.041).

Keywords: labor pain relief; transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation; epidural anesthesia; patient satisfaction questionnaire; visual analogue pain scale; labor duration

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