{
  "abstract": "Background and Aims Labor analgesia (LA) contributes to the provision of high-quality maternal care. Understanding the demographic characteristics helps to improve practices. This study aims to conduct a descriptive analysis from a labor and delivery unit at a tertiary care center, to identify trends in maternal and LA used and the overall childbirth experience.Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department from July to October 2023. A questionnaire was applied to within 48 hours following vaginal delivery.Results 172 postpartum women participated. The mean age was 31 years. Most were employed (81.4%) and Portuguese (86%). Planned pregnancies were reported by 68.8% and 55% were nulliparous. Spontaneous labor onset occurred in 45.3% of cases. Eutocic deliveries accounted for 64.5% of the cases. Most deliveries (81.7%) occurred at full term. Epidural analgesia was the most common form of LA (95.9%), initiated predominantly during the latent (43.7%) phase of labor. Manual bolus on demand was the most frequently used technique (45.8%), while fixed bolus with patient-controlled epidural analgesia accounted for 12%. Most patients had no complications associated with LA (77.8%). Regarding patient expectations with LA, 44.2% and 42.4% reported that their expectations were exceeded or met, respectively. Regarding satisfaction with the anesthesiologist, 68% of women were ‘very satisfied’. Overall, 74.4% of participants expressed ‘very satisfied’ with their labor experience. No participants reported ‘very dissatisfied’.Conclusions Expectations regarding LA were largely met and most experienced a complication-free process. This highlights the effectiveness and acceptability of the LA protocols in place, contributing to maternal care.",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Anesthesiology, Unidade Local de Saúde de São João, Porto, Portugal"
      ],
      "name": "Catarina Chaves"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Anesthesiology, Unidade Local de Saúde de São João, Porto, Portugal"
      ],
      "name": "Lídia Faria"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Anesthesiology, Unidade Local de Saúde de São João, Porto, Portugal"
      ],
      "name": "Sara Lopes"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Anesthesiology, Unidade Local de Saúde de São João, Porto, Portugal"
      ],
      "name": "Ana Dias"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Biomedicine, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal"
      ],
      "name": "Rute Sampaio"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Anesthesiology, Unidade Local de Saúde de São João, Porto, Portugal"
      ],
      "name": "Catarina Sampaio"
    }
  ],
  "title": "EP054 Labor analgesia: a descriptive study in a tertiary hospital in Portugal",
  "uid": "afc8f04c-a442-5da1-8bca-3d8d8c2df313"
}