Examining the impact of upright and recumbent positions on labor outcomes in Saudi Arabia: A quasi-experiment

Background: Helping the woman to adopt a comfortable position during childbirth significantly affects labor changes and pain management. However, there is a lack of consensus on the impacts of different childbirth positions on labor outcomes. In addition, a scarce of studies have assessed the effects of the upright and recumbent positions on delivery outcomes, especially in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Objective: This study aimed to examine and compare the influence of upright and recumbent childbirth positions on birth outcomes. Methods: The setting was the childbirth unit at East Jeddah Hospital from November 2020 to March 2021. The research design was quasi-experimental, including 300 women in labor under 18-45 years. The sample includes two equal groups of 150 women: upright (experiment) and recumbent (comparison) position groups. Three tools were used to collect data: a structured interviewing questionnaire, the modified WHO partograph, and the Wong-Baker FACES® pain rating scale. Descriptive statistics, chi-square, independent t-test, and paired t-test were used for data analysis. Results: Women in the recumbent position spent a longer duration in the first, second, and third stages of childbirth and had higher pain scores and less satisfaction with the assumed position than women in the upright position, with a highly significant difference (p