OBJECTIVES: to evaluate the vertical position adopted by nulliparous women during labor in terms of pain and satisfaction with the position. METHODS: the study was based on a secondary efficacy analysis of data from 107 nulliparous women enrolled in a randomized controlled trial in which the vertical position adopted during the dilation phase of labor was evaluated. The analysis involved comparing the median percentages of the duration for which women remained in the vertical position for each of the variables studied . The Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests were used to determine the difference s betwee n th e groups. Statistical significance was set at p<0.05. RESULTS: at 4cm of dilation , the women with a pain score < 5 remained longer in the vertical position during labor compared to those with a score > 7 (p=0.02) . At 4 and 6 cm of dilation , the women who reported greater satisfaction remained more than 50 % of the time in the vertical position (p=0.0 2 an d p=0.03 , respectively). CONCLUSIONS: the vertical position helped relieve labor pain and increased comfort and patient satisfaction.
Vertical position; Labor pain; Patient satisfaction; Humanizing delivery
