Support actions undertaken for the woman by companions in public maternity hospitals.
Carolina Frescura Junges, Odaléa Maria Brüggemann, Roxana Knobel and 1 others
PMID 29947720WHAT IT FOUND
Most birth companions provided emotional and physical support despite little preparation or knowledge of their rights.
They rarely negotiated the woman's wishes with staff, acting as supporters rather than advocates.
Key findings
01Companions frequently provided emotional and physical support during labor, with 99.1% remaining by the woman's side and 90.4% helping her change position.
02Only 23.6% of companions knew about the law guaranteeing their presence, and just 8.6% had attended any preparatory course or seminar.
03Negotiating the woman's wishes with health professionals was the least common action, undertaken by 60.9% during labor and 56.7% during birth.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study did not assess the content of any courses or seminars companions may have attended. The specific wishes that companions negotiated with health professionals were not recorded. Data were collected in only three public hospitals in one Brazilian state, which may limit generalizability to other settings or private care. Self-reported actions may be subject to recall bias or social desirability bias.
Declared interests
The study was supported by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Brazil. No other conflicts of interest are declared.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the high frequency of support actions as evidence that these actions improved clinical outcomes like pain scores or birth duration. This study describes what companions did, not what effect their actions had on the mothers or babies.