This randomized controlled experimental study aimed to examine the effect of birth ball exercise on labor pain, delivery duration, birth comfort, and birth satisfaction. The sample of the study consisted of 120 primiparous pregnant women presented to the delivery room between November 2021 and April 2022. Pregnant women were randomly assigned to the Intervention Group (IG, n=60) or the Control Group (KG, n=60). After the cervical dilatation reached at 4 cm, the pregnant women in the IG performed birth ball exercises, adhering to the birth ball guide created by the researcher. No intervention was made in the control group other than standard midwifery care practices.~A Personal Information Form,a Visual Analog Scale (VAS), the Childbirth Comfort Questionnaire (CCQ), a Labor and Postpartum Follow-up Form, and the Mackey Childbirth Satisfaction Rating Scale (MCSRS) were used for data collection. Women in both groups underwent VAS when cervical dilatation was 4 cm and 9 cm, and the CCQ was applied when dilatation was 8 cm. The MCSRS was administered two hours after delivery.
It has been reported that the birth ball has benefits such as decreasing the perception of labor pain, reducing the anxiety level, shortening the duration of the first stage of labor, increasing the satisfaction of birth, and facilitating the descent of the fetal head, but the literature is quite limited. So, this randomized controlled experimental study aimed to examine the effect of birth ball exercise on labor pain, delivery duration, birth comfort, and birth satisfaction.