Objective: To assess the effect of the upright positions on childbirth types
in woman who did not receive routine epidural analgesia during the first
stage of labor
Methods: In this meta-analysis, articles, master’s theses, and PhD theses
published between 1970 and 2015 in 10 databases were reviewed for keywords
and inclusion criteria. The bias risks of the studies were assessed
according to Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions,
and the overall effect size analysis, heterogeneity tests, and sensitivity analysis
were performed with the publication bias, risk ratio effect size, and random
effects model.
Results: The criteria for the meta-analysis were met by 13 intervention
studies (n=2441). According to the random effect model, the overall effect
size of vaginal birth was 1.035 (95% CI=0.961–1.115), that of instrumental
vaginal birth was 0.871 (95% CI=0.591–1.285), and that of cesarean birth
was 0.625 (95% CI=0.416–0.940). After sensitivity analysis, it revealed that
the risk ratio for the cesarean delivery rate was statistically insignificant
with 0.602 (95% CI=0.319–1.134), but effect size and the heterogeneity of
cesarean delivery effect size were wider.
Conclusion: In women who did not receive routine epidural analgesia at
the first stage of labor, the effect of the upright position on vaginal and instrumental
vaginal births was insignificant; however, the rate of cesarean
delivery was less in the upright position. This study should be repeated in the
clinical setting with an appropriately designed experimental framework. The
methodology of the research subject should be conducted in an appropriately
designed experimental work. Women should be encouraged to use the
upright position while giving birth because the absence of any harm in the
upright position is important in reducing the rate of cesarean birth, but the
individual factors of the positions should be taken into consideration
Primary Language | English |
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Journal Section | Articles |
Authors | |
Publication Date | June 15, 2018 |
Submission Date | April 10, 2017 |
Published in Issue | Year 2018 Volume: 8 Issue: 2 |