The Childbirth Experience: A Systematic Review on Prenatal and Intrapartum Supportive Interventions

Abstract

Background: The incidence of challenging delivering experiences varies among societies and is impacted by various factors. The primary goal of this review was to assess the effect of supportive interventions pre- and during delivery on the likelihood of a positive childbirth experience. Methods: This study reviewed articles related to childbirth experience in international databases, such as PubMed, Cochrane, and ScienceDirect. A total of 1433 articles were found using the PRISMA guideline. Review research emphasized the supporting interventions during labor and women's subjective experience. Quality assessment was conducted using the modified Jadad scale. Results: Overall, fifteen studies passed the eligibility criteria. The effective approaches to develop a favorable understanding of the whole birthing process encompassed the following supportive interventions: yoga exercise during pregnancy, antenatal hypnosis program, continuous supportive care during labor, family companion during labor, massage during labor, therapeutic touch program, acupressure during labor, birth ball exercise during labor, warm showers during the first stage, and dancing with music during the active phase of labor. Conclusion: Various supportive interventions related to childbirth may reduce pain and anxiety, build confidence, encourage, and serve as valuable psychosocial interventions for childbirth. Becoming a mother is not a frequent occurrence for all women, contributing to an overall experience in childbirth. Our study recommends interventions, such as yoga exercises during pregnancy, an antenatal hypnosis program, continuous supportive care during labor, a family companion during labor, massage during labor, a therapeutic touch program, acupressure during labor, birth ball exercise during labor, warm showers during the first stage, and dancing with music during the active phase of labor.