OBJECTIVE: To compare obstetric outcome after a bath offered to women on two different occasions during the first stage of labour. The aim of the study was to determine whether an early bath affected the progress of labour and the use of analgesia when compared with a late bath during the first stage of labour. DESIGN: A randomised prospective pilot-study. SETTING: The delivery ward at Ostra Hospital in Goteborg. PARTICIPANTS: Two hundred women, at low obstetric risk. INTERVENTIONS: The women were randomised to either the 'early bath group' or the 'late bath group'. The women in the 'early bath group' had a bath before a cervical dilatation of 5 cm, while the women in the 'late bath group' had a bath after the cervix was 5 cm dilated. MEASUREMENTS AND FINDINGS: The women in the 'early bath group' had a longer time period from established labour to delivery (9.8 hours) compared to the 'late bath group' (8.5 hours) (p < 0.004). A higher proportion of women in the 'early bath group' needed oxytocin administration (57%) compared to the 'late bath group' (30%) (p < 0.01). Epidural analgesia was used by 27% of the women in the 'early bath group' and by 9% in the 'late bath group' (p < 0.001). One baby in the 'early bath group' had clinical signs of infection and required antibiotic treatment. No cases of amnionitis or endometritis were present in the women. KEY CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The findings suggest that a bath during the first stage of labour should preferably be used after a cervical dilatation of 5 cm to avoid prolonged labour, and an increased use of oxytocin and epidural analgesia.

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