• Jong-Woon Kim, Yoon Ha Kim, Hye Yon Cho, Hee-Young Shin, Jong Chul Shin, Sea Kyung Choi, Keun-Young Lee, Ji-Eun Song, and Pil-Ryang Lee.
• Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Chonnam National University Medical School , Gwangju , Korea .
• J. Matern. Fetal. Neonatal. Med. 2013 Nov 1;26(16):1623-7.

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of inflatable obstetric belts on uterine fundal pressure in the management of the second stage of labor.MethodBetween July 2009 and December 2010, 188 nulliparous women with a singleton pregnancy at term were enrolled and only one dropped. The participants were randomized to receive either standard care (control group, n = 91) or uterine fundal pressure by the Labor Assister (Baidy M-520/Curexo, Inc., Seoul, Korea; active group, n = 97) during the second stage of labor in addition to standard care. The Labor Assister is an inflatable obstetric belt that is synchronized to apply constant fundal pressure during a uterine contraction. The primary endpoint was duration of the second stage of labor in women who delivered vaginally (control, n = 80 versus active, n = 93). It was not analyzed in women who delivered by cesarean section (n = 14) and delivered precipitously (n = 1). The secondary outcomes are perinatal outcomes and perineal laceration. Participants received patient-controlled epidural analgesia.ResultsThe 93 women in the active group spent less time in the second stage of labor when compared to the 80 women in the control group (46.51 ± 28.01 min versus 75.02 ± 37.48 min, p < 0.001). There was no significant difference in perinatal outcomes and perineal laceration between the two groups.ConclusionThe uterine fundal pressure exerted by the inflatable obstetric belt reduces the duration of the second stage of labor without complications in nulliparous women who receive patient-controlled epidural analgesia.

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