A Survey on the Perceived Experience and Acceptance of Intrapartum Ultrasound as a Novel Method for Labor Progress Assessment
10.13471/j.cnki.j.sun.yat-sen.univ（med.sci）.2025.0319
- VernacularTitle:产时超声作为新的产程评估手段的体验感及接受度调查
- Author:
Xinjuan CHEN
1
;
Jinhui CUI
1
;
Liping OUYANG
1
;
Ling LI
1
;
Jianhui FAN
1
;
Ping LI
1
Author Information
1. Department of Obstetrics， The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University， Guangzhou 510630， China
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
intrapartum ultrasound;
experience;
acceptance;
labor progress assessment;
questionnaire survey
- From:
Journal of Sun Yat-sen University(Medical Sciences)
2025;46(3):535-540
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
ObjectiveTo investigate the perceived experience and acceptance of intrapartum ultrasound （IPUS） as a novel method for labor progress assessment among pregnant women. MethodsFrom February 2023 to December 2024， a total of 180 pregnant women admitted to the Labor Ward of Lingnan Hospital， the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University， who were planned for vaginal trial of labor ， were accessed for labor progress using IPUS and vaginal examination （VE） after the onset of labor and prior to the initiation n of labor analgesia. A self-designed questionnaire was used to investigate the women's perceived experiences with both examination methods and their acceptance of IPUS. The pain intensity associated with the examinations was evaluated using the visual analogue pain scale （VAS）. Differences in the women's experiences and pain intensity between the two labor progress assessment methods were compared. ResultsThe acceptance rate of IPUS was 96.67% （174/180）， with the remaining 6 cases undecided. Over 60% of the pregnant women reported IPUS assessment as comfortable and none of them felt discomfort， whereas 32.8% felt uncomfortable with VE （χ2=196.02， P＜0.001）. Nearly two-thirds of the pregnant women believed that VE would cause psychological distress， while none reported such effect with IPUS （χ2=261.52， P＜0.001）. Approximately 77.78% （140/180） of the pregnant women believed that IPUS could reduce their fear of vaginal delivery and enhance their confidence if it replaced VE. The VAS score for IPUS ［0 （0， 2）］ was significantly lower than that for VE ［4 （4， 6）］ （Z=-14.62， P＜0.001）. Further stratified analysis showed that over 90% （164/180） of the pregnant women found IPUS painless， with no moderate or severe pain reported， compared to 43.33% （78/180） experienced moderate or severe pain with VE （P＜0.001）. ConclusionAs a novel approach for labor progress assessment， IPUS not only alleviates the pain and discomfort associated with traditional VE and reduces the fear of childbirth but also enhances women's confidence in delivery， thereby achieving a high level of acceptance among parturient women in China.
