Warm Tub Bath During Labour
By Eriksson, Ladfors, Mattsson
Eriksson, Ladfors, Mattsson, et al. "Warm tub bath during
labour: A study of 1385 women with prelabour rupture of membranes
after 34 weeks of gestation." Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica
Scandinavia, August 1996, Vol. 75, No. 7, pp 642-644 Authors: and
others
The goal of this study was to evaluate the influence of a bath
on infectious morbidity in mothers and neonates in women with premature
rupture of membranes after 34 weeks gestation.
A nonrandomized study of 1385 healthy women took place. In the
first stage of labor 538 women wanted a bath while 847 did not.
The women awaited spontaneous contractions up to 24 to 72 hours
after the rupture of membranes before labor was induced with oxytocin.
Internal examinations of the cervix were avoided until onset of
active labor or until the time induction was planned.
The authors found that chorioamnionitis during labor occurred in
1.1% of the women in the bath group and in 0.2% in the reference
group. Postpartum endometritis was found in three cases both in
the bath group and in the reference group. The frequency of neonates
receiving antibiotics was 3.7% in the bath group and 4.8% in the
reference group.
The conclusions are that a tub bath did not increase the risk of
maternal or neonatal infection even after premature rupture of the
membranes and prolonged latency.
Reprinted from Midwifery Today E-News (Vol 1 Issue 45, Nov 5, 1999)
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