Decreasing Labor Pain through Sacralist Counter-pressure Therapy Using Tennis Ball in the Mother during the Labor Process

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Labor pain is a physiological process caused by the contraction of uterus muscle as an effort to open the cervix and push the baby’s head toward the pelvis. One of the treatments giving by nurses to reduce the pain is by counter-pressure therapy. AIM: The aim of the study was to determine the effect of counter-pressure therapy using tennis balls toward the pain level in the first stage during the active phase of labor. METHODS: It was a quasi-experimental study with pretest-posttest one group design. The population in this study was patients with active phase I delivery in PKU Muhammadiyah Hospital of Temanggung. A total of 26 respondents were selected through purposive sampling technique. The data were analyzed using Wilcoxon matched paired test. RESULTS: The pain intensity in 26 respondents (100%) in the first stage during the active phase of labor before the treatment was categorized as severe pain. However, after the implementation of the counter-pressure therapy using tenis ball, the pain intensity was categorized as moderate in 18 respondents (69.2%) and severe in the rest of the respondents (30.8%). CONCLUSION: Counter-pressure massage therapy using a tennis ball was effective in reducing the level of pain in the first stage during the active phase of labor with a p = 0.000 (α < 0.05).