Evaluation of the effect of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation at different frequencies at birth on hormone levels, perception of labor pain and anxiety

This study aims to identify the effects of Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation applied in different frequencies on hormone levels, labor pain, and anxiety. The study, which utilized a randomized-controlled experimental design, was conducted between the 20th of March 2020 and the 19th of March 2021. The target population was all pregnant women who were admitted for labor to Adana Seyhan Public hospital affiliated to the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Health, and the sample was 56 primipara pregnant women. Ethics committee approval was obtained from the hospital, and the participants' informed consent was received. Data were collected through the Socio-Demographic Form, the Labour Process Assessment Form, the Visual Analogue Scale, the State Anxiety Scale, and the maternal blood sample. Analyses were performed using IBM SPSS V25 software and R Studio. Statistical significance was taken p<0,05. Participating pregnant women's average age was found 22,02±3,13, the average gestational week was found 38,27±0,5, and the average number of women in the delivery room was 2,48±1,14. The groups were found to have no statistically significant differences in terms of the descriptive characteristics of the pregnant women (p>0,05). The second measure oxytocin, endorphin, and cervical dilation of the pregnant women in the Active TENS 2 group were found to increase significantly in comparison to Active TENS 1, Control, and Placebo groups (p<0,01). Second measure plasma cortisol, labor pain, state anxiety level, and labor stage durations of the women in the Active TENS 2 group were found to be significantly lower in comparison to Active TENS 1, Control, and Placebo groups (p<0,01). The results of this study showed that transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, particularly high-intensity transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, increased oxytocin, endorphin, and cervical dilation significantly and decreased plasma cortisol, labor pain, state anxiety level, and stage durations significantly.