supamas Chuamuangphan The effects of cold compresses on pain reduction during labor in primigravidas. Maesuai Hospital, Chiangrai Province.

Abstract

 The study was quasi-experimental research aimed to study the effects of cold on pain reduction and early time of  labor in  primigravidas. Maesuai Hospital, Chiang Rai Province. Collected the data between November 2023 – January  2024. Selected a purposive sampling of 40 case  according to the specified characteristics : gestational age of 37-42 weeks, no complications during pregnancy and first stage of labor, labor without preparation to ease labor pain and nor labor induction. The subjects were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups (20 subjects per groug) The experimental group received cold compresses in the lower abdomen and lower back using cold compress bags with a temperature of about 10-15 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes, rest for 40 minutes until the cervix was dilated at 10 centimeters and the control group received routine care only. The experiment begun when the cervix had dilated to  4 centimeters open until the cervix was dilated at 10 centimeters.      Pain was assessed using  the Numeric Pain Rating Scale. Data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics and independent t-test. The findings revealed the following: The experimental group had lower mean pain scores than the control group with statistical significance (p<0.05).  The experimental group had shorter time of labor than the control group with statistical significance. (p<0.05)

          The findings of this study demonstrate that cold compress application in the lower abdomen and lower back areas was able to ease pain and shorten the time of the labor with statistical significance. Therefore, nonpharmacological pain relief by using cold compresses is another option for reducing labor pain.