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Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation for Relief of Parturition Pain: A Clinical Report

Ms. Grim is Director of Physical and Occupational Therapy, Department of Physical Medicine, Reading Hospital and Medical Center, Reading, PA 19606 (USA).
Ms. Morey was Coordinator of Clinical Education, Department of Physical Medicine, Reading Hospital and Medical Center, when this clinical report was done. She is now Department Head of Physical Therapy, Leader Nursing Home, Laureldale, PA 19605.

The purpose of this clinical report is to share procedures and results using transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) in the management of pain associated with labor and delivery. Although favorable reports of the use of TENS during labor have been published in Europe, its application in the United States to the labor and delivery process has received little attention and is relatively unknown. We decided to use US equipment in the obstetric department of a US community hospital to verify the European studies. Fifteen patients selected by two obstetricians evaluated the effectiveness of a 3M TENS unit Model 6240. The criteria for inclusion were willingness to try TENS and ability to understand the procedure. The patients served as their own control and turned the unit off for several contractions during the middle and late periods of the first stage of labor to judge the effectiveness of TENS. Twenty-four hours after delivery, a physical therapist recorded the subjective response of patients and obstetricians separately on a questionnaire, which gave a rating scale of poor, moderate, or excellent for relief. We found TENS provided some form of relief to 87 percent of the participants, and 20 percent reported excellent relief. Most participants expressed a willingness to use TENS if they gave birth again.

Key Words: Electric stimulation • Labor • Pain • Physical therapy

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