Care During Labor and Delivery: The Outcomes of Hydrotherapy As expectant women seek non-pharmacologic methods of pain management, hydrotherapy is a good start. The practice of using submersion in water for alternative pain relief is referred to as hydrotherapy. Hydrotherapy can help provide an environment optimal for a gentle, physiologic birth. This paper will explore the efficacy of hydrotherapy as a pain management tool in labor and how hydrotherapy influences the outcomes of deliveries. Concept Hydrotherapy can be exercised in two ways during the laboring process: water immersion in labor, in which during the first stage of labor the laboring woman gets into a pool or tub of warm water prior to the baby being born and waterbirth, in which the woman remains in the water during the pushing stage. Showering also provides laboring moms with the comforts of warm water. While the concept of water immersion during labor is widely accepted, the safety of waterbirth is more controversial (Dykes, 2017). Many of the benefits of water immersion are attributed to the buoyancy of the water, such as the pressure water puts on the body. Other benefits include lower episiotomy rates and labor progress facilitation due to decreased stress and …show more content…
One factor in this dilemma is that women do not always have access to a birthing pool or staff trained in waterbirths (Harper, 2014). Prenatal education programs should include information concerning the benefits, risks, and eligibility criteria of hydrotherapy during labor and birth. By evaluating hydrotherapy, healthcare providers can ascertain if this is a valid treatment to include in birth plans. The purpose of this paper is to explore the efficacy of hydrotherapy as a method of pain relief and how hydrotherapy impacts the outcomes of deliveries. This paper will use the PICOT format to explore and evaluate this