تاثير مراقبت مداوم مامايي در طي ليبر بر طول مدت زايمان

The Effect of Continuity of Midwifery Care During the Length of Labor and Delivery

Background & Objectives: The motto of WHO for 2007 was: " were is a woman, midwives should be in her bedside". Pregnancy & childbirth period process has a salient influence on social health. Regarding the important role of midwife at the bedside of parturient woman and the length of labor and delivery, the purpose of this study was to survey the effect of continuity of midwifery care on the length of labor on childbirth. Materials & Methods: This study is a quasi- experimental design which was done on parturient women referring to Tabriz 29 Bahman hospital with normal vaginal delivery. 100 women were randomly assigned to either experimental (n~50) or control (n=50) group with experimental group were cared for by a single midwife from active phase of labor with continuous presence (of the same midwife) by the parturient womanʹs side (continuity of care). The women of control group were cared for with several midwives without continuous presence of them during her labor and childbirth course. Delivery outcomes, among them length of delivery, were recorded and then data were analyzed by SPSS and T-test. Results: In the experimental group, length of first and second stage of labor were shorter than control group (p=0.001) but there were no significant difference in the length of third stage in both groups (p=0.083). Length of labor (in minutes) for triple stages were generally shorter in experimental group (p=0.001). Conclusion: The results showed that fewer numbers of midwives and their continuous presence by the parturient womenʹs bedside (continuity of care) has a positive effect on decreasing the length of labor. So "being with a laboring woman" and staying near her bedside will promote not only quality outcomes of midwifery cares but also the social health.