Snoezelen Room and Childbirth Outcome: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Background: One of the strategies for a good outcome and pain free childbearing is to design the delivery room.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of snoezelen room on childbearing outcome such as pain intensity, duration of labor, and perinea status in nulliparous women.

Patients and methods: This study was a randomized controlled clinical trial consists of 100 childbearing women. They were randomly divided into 2 groups. The experimental group went to snoezelen room when their cervix dilation was 4 cm, while the control group went to physiologic delivery room with the same cervix dilation.

Results: The mean ± SD of VAS (Visual Analogue Scale) pain intensity of the experimental and control groups before the intervention were 5.1 ± 1.95 and 5.58 ± 1.62, respectively (P = 0.13). The mean ± SD of VAS pain intensity scores of the experimental and control groups after 3 hours spending in their assigned rooms were 5.26 ± 0.86 and 9.56 ± 1.48, respectively (P = 0.01). The mean ± SD of the first stage scores of the experimental and control groups were 6.95 ± 0.97 and 8.41 ± 0.67, respectively (P = 0.042). About 92% of participants' intervention vs. 66% of control participants had perinea laceration (P = 0.041).

Conclusions: According to the findings of the present study, distracting senses in snoezelen room decreases mother's pain intensity, the length of labor, and incidence of episiotomy.