Efficacy of spontaneous pushing with pursed lips breathing compared with directed pushing in maternal and neonatal outcomes

Abstract

Abstract: This is a quasi-randomised clinical trial, with 62 low-risk pregnant women in the second stage of labour. They were randomly allocated in control (CG) (n = 31) and intervention (IG) (n = 31) groups. The IG performed spontaneous pushing with pursed lips breathing while the CG was oriented to perform directed pushing associated with Valsalva Manoeuvre (VM). There was no difference between the groups regarding the occurrence of episiotomy (RR 1,1; 95%IC 1,0 to 1,2). However, there was a decrease in the duration of the maternal pushing by 3.2 min (MD 3,2; 95%CI 1,4 to 5,1) and a difference in maternal anxiety (Md (IQR) IG 46 (35–52), CG 51 (44–56) p:0,049), both favouring the IG. Spontaneous pushing was effective in reducing the duration of the pushing and showed a difference in maternal anxiety but did not decrease the maternal and neonatal outcomes.