The Complementary Therapies for Labour and Birth Study making sense of labour and birth - Experiences of women, partners and midwives of a complementary medicine antenatal education course

Objective: to gain insight into the experiences of women, partners and midwives who participated in the Complementary Therapies for Labour and Birth Study, an evidence based complementary medicine (CM) antenatal education course.

Design: qualitative in-depth interviews and a focus group as part of the Complementary Therapies for Labour and Birth Study.

Setting and participants: thirteen low risk primiparous women and seven partners who had participated in the study group of a randomised controlled trial of the complementary therapies for labour and birth study, and 12 midwives caring for these women. The trial was conducted at two public hospitals, and through the Western Sydney University in Sydney, Australia.

Interventions: the Complementary Therapies for Labour and Birth (CTLB) protocol, based on the She Births® course and the Acupressure for labour and birth protocol, incorporated six evidence-based complementary medicine (CM) techniques; acupressure, relaxation, visualisation, breathing, massage, yoga techniques and incorporated facilitated partner support. Randomisation to the trial occurred at 24-36 weeks' gestation, and participants attended a two-day antenatal education programme, plus standard care, or standard care alone.

Findings: the overarching theme identified in the qualitative data was making sense of labour and birth. Women used information about normal birth physiology from the course to make sense of labour, and to utilise the CM techniques to support normal birth and reduce interventions in labour. Women's, partners' and midwives' experience of the course and its use during birth gave rise to supporting themes such as: working for normal; having a toolkit; and finding what works.

Key conclusions: the Complementary Therapies for Labour and Birth Study provided women and their partners with knowledge to understand the physiology of normal labour and birth and enabled them to use evidence-based CM tools to support birth and reduce interventions.

Implications for practice: the Complementary Therapies for Labour and Birth Study introduces concepts of what constitutes normal birth and provides skills to support women, partners and midwives. It appears to be an effective form of antenatal education that supports normal birth, and maternity services need to consider how they can reform current antenatal education in line with this evidence.