Effectiveness of staged nursing in reducing labor analgesia complications: a retrospective cohort study

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Source: Frontiers Medicine

Original: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2025.1709726...

Published: 2026-01-16T00:00:00Z

A retrospective cohort study compared stepped nursing (structured assessments, continuous monitoring and individualized interventions) with standard care for labor analgesia in a tertiary care hospital. The stepped nursing group had a significantly lower incidence of hypotension (8.6% vs. 18.0%, p=0.03), respiratory depression (2.2% vs. 7.9%, p=0.04), inadequate pain control (6.015% vs. 0.05% vs. control group), and postdural puncture headache (2.9% vs. 10.1%, p=0.02). The duration of labor and the dose of analgesia were significantly lower in the intervention group. Maternal satisfaction scores were higher (4.3 vs. 3.5, p<0.001). Study finds that stepped nursing reduces complications of labor analgesia and improves maternal satisfaction. The findings recommend considering the integration of structured nursing protocols into routine obstetric care.