Utility of complementary therapies in pain management during childbirth: an integrative literature review

Introduction: Labour pain is one of the most worrying things for future mothers. Nurses ensure the well-being of patients in all these aspects and it should be noted that there are various complementary options to epidural analgesia. Objective: To identify the complementary therapies that could be applied effectively and safely in pregnant women, to analyse the contributing factors of greater well-being for the parturient and to evaluate their utility. Method: this integrative review were carried out in online databases: PubMed, Scopus and Dialnet, Articles whose publication date was not more than ten years ago, written in English, Spanish or Portuguese and open access were included. Results: 16 studies about the application of different complementary therapies used safely in pregnant were included and analysed. The obtained results of the application of complementary techniques in previous studies were taken into account and agruped according to typology: body-mind interventions, alternative medical practice, manual healing methods, immersion in water and swiss ball, aromatherapy and auriculotherapy and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation. Conclusion: The variety of effective and safe complementary therapies on labour is evidencied, as well as their usefulness to reduce the possible incoveniences that may appear during this process, increasing the positive experience of labour. (AU)