Mobility and Positioning of Pregnant Women in Labor: Scoping Review
Published 2025-06-11
Keywords
- Pregnant Women,
- Movement,
- Patient Positioning,
- Labor
How to Cite
Copyright (c) 2024 Ana Sofia Martins, Maria João Freitas
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Abstract
Introduction
The medicalization of childbirth resulted in changes in care, confining pregnant women to bed and conditioning the assumption of the role of protagonist during labor. Mobility (ability to move freely) and positioning (vertical or horizontal) spontaneously assumed by women in labor reveal maternal-fetal benefits, promoting natural birth and preventing deviations from normal labor.
Objective
To map the published scientific evidence on the influence of mobility and positioning of pregnant women during labor.
Methods
Scoping review, carried out in three databases: Academic Search Complete, CINAHL Complete and MEDLINE Complete, to answer the research question “What is the influence of the pregnant women’s mobility and positioning during labor?” formulated using the PCC mnemonic - Population (pregnant women), Concept (mobility and positioning) and Context (labor). 41 articles were identified, duplicates excluded, after reading the titles and abstracts, 5 articles were selected for full reading, of which 3 answered the proposed question; 3 more articles obtained from other sources of information were included, making a total of 6 articles.
Results
From the analysis of the articles, two categories of results emerged influenced by the positioning and mobility of pregnant woman during labor: Maternal results with six subcategories (Duration of the 1st and 2nd stage of labor; Pain; Type of delivery; Perineal outcome; Satisfaction; Complications); Fetal/neonatal results, with three subcategories (Fetal positioning, Fetal well-being and Apgar score). A shorter duration of labor, increasing of normal births, better perineal outcomes, normal fetal heart rates and lower levels of pain resulting in better delivery experiences stand out.
Conclusion
The mobility and positioning of pregnant women contributes to favorable progression of labor. It is up to the nurse-midwife to encourage freedom of movement and guide pregnant women in selecting appropriate positions for the stage of labor she is in.