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Sterile water injections for back pain in labour

Abstract:

Sterile water injections to reduce low back pain during labour have been used for the last 25 years in Scandinavia and since 1990 in the United States of America (USA) and Canada. The technique is not featured in current midwifery textbooks except for two USA publications. This paper reviews the use of sterile water injections in six studies published between 1990 and 2008, the various techniques used by the researchers and their results. The paper concludes with a discussion around some considerations for practice that emerged from these studies, including the different techniques and the number and type of injections to use. The evidence from the studies suggests that sterile water injections are an effective method to relieve low back pain in labour. They are simple to undertake and may provide women with an alternative option to narcotics and epidurals. The transitory pain experienced by the women immediately after the injection appears to be the only side effect.

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pain in labour, posterior position, Reducing back pain, water injections