My Birth Course: An antenatal course of Complementary Medicine (CM) techniques for labour and birth for women having their first baby: a randomized controlled trial.
My Birth Course: An antenatal package of Complementary Medicine (CM) techniques for labour and birth examining epidural use in primiparous women: a randomized controlled trial.
University of South Australia
200 participants
Sep 4, 2018
Interventional
Conditions
Summary
The aim of this research is to translate the low-cost ‘Integrative Medicine for Labour & Birth Program’ (My Birth Course) into end-user benefit and to inform health service delivery. The study will be conducted as a randomised controlled trial (RCT). Randomisation will occur between 24-36 weeks’ gestation. Women will be enrolled into the My Birth Course (antenatal education program), in addition to standard care, or receive standard care alone. This RCT will contribute to a prospective meta-analysis design to assess clinical effectiveness and quantify resource use that will affect translation into practice and sustainability. This study extends the finding of the original RCT conducted in Sydney, Australia which demonstrated significant reductions in caesarean section and medical interventions. The unique contribution of this proposal is to extend the generalisability of the findings by recruiting women from a more diverse group of women at a different hospital to determine the real-world effectiveness of an antenatal education intervention when it is delivered through a range of maternity units in Australia and internationally.
Eligibility
Inclusion Criteria5
- Gestational age between 24 and 36 weeks of completed pregnancy
- Primiparous
- Singleton pregnancies
- Low to moderate risk as defined by Australian College of Midwives referral guidelines
- Women will have sufficient English for participation in a the workshops
Exclusion Criteria4
- High risk pregnancies
- Congenital abnormalities
- Participation in similar program of complementary antenatal education including ‘Calm Birth’, ‘Hypnobirthing’, ‘Active Birthing’ etc.)
- Participation in midwifery group practice (1:1 Midwifery continuity of care model)
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Interventions
My Birth Course is an antenatal education package consisting of 5 different non-pharmacological (complementary therapy) techniques for the management of pain in normal labor and birth. The workshops are educational sessions with interactive practice of techniques learned over the course. The following concepts and techniques are introduced to the woman during the course: the physiology of birth, the fear-pain-tension cycle, working with pain, the relaxation response, guided visualization and relaxation, active birth- movement, yoga and positions for birth, accupressure, breathing and massage techniques. Duration of treatment: Participation in a 2-day weekend or a series of 4x (2.5h) evening workshops from 24-36 weeks gestation. Participants can choose which of the scheduled workshops (whether weekend or evening) they wish to attend. Participants document a practice worksheet outlining the tools and techniques (when/where/with whom) they will practice to prepare for labour and birth. Participants are instructed to practice their chosen technique/s regularly but are not prescribed any specific duration or frequency of time to practice. The workshop will run twice per month over 10-12 months or until recruitment has been achieved. The workshops will be held at the University of South Australia (west campus) Health Clinic. The workshops will be delivered by expert midwifery educators with a minimum of 5 years experience each. Follow-up will occur within 72 hours of birth. At this time point participants will self report time spent practicing the (complementary therapies) techniques used for labour and birth.
Locations(1)
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ACTRN12618001353280