Characteristics of labor pain at two stages of cervical dilation

Abstract

This study characterized the pain reported in a selected group of obstetrical patients in labor and compared the pain experienced at 2 stages of dilation, dilation of 2–5 cm and of 6–10 cm. Pain was defined as the perception of an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience with multidimensional factors that evoke behavioral responses. The characteristics of pain were operationalized as responses of 78 laboring women to 3 self-report measures, the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), Present Pain Intensity (PPI), and the McGill Pain Questionnaire (PRI-R), and 1 observational measure, the nurse-rated Behavioral Index of Pain (BIP). As cervical dilation increased, there were significant increases in self-reported pain and observed pain on all the cited measures. Pain was characterized as ‘discomforting’ during early dilation and as ‘distressing, horrible, excruciating’ as dilation progressed. Significant increases in pain with increased dilation occurred on all measures for multigravidas but only on the VAS for primigravidas.