Nulliparous Women's Expectations and Experiences of Early Labor

Purpose:To describe the expectations of early labor by nulliparous pregnant women in their third trimester and first-time mothers' experiences of early labor after they had given birth.Study Design and Methods:A descriptive qualitative approach involving semi-structured, video-call interviews conducted between September 2020 and April 2021. Data were analyzed using content analysis.Results:Twenty-two women took part in this study. Only 3 of the 10 nulliparous pregnant participants reported pain as an expected symptom of early labor. There were two themes identified from interviews with pregnant participants: Desire to stay at home in early labor and Lack of knowledge and two themes from interviews from postpartum participants: Expectations didn't match experiences and Feelings of anxiety and uncertainty during early labor.Clinical Implications:Nulliparous women lack knowledge of and skills to effectively cope with pain during early labor while at home. There is a need for an innovative labor support program for childbearing women to remain safely at home in early labor. Women who are giving birth for the first time need information about what to expect in early labor, how to manage pain, discomfort, fear, rupture of membranes, and when to come to the hospital. In this study, women at term shared their knowledge of early labor and women during postpartum described the experience of early labor compared to what they had expected. More research is needed on how to improve knowledge and support of women in early labor to promote safely staying at home until admission to the hospital is clinically appropriate.