Study design
Women with anticipated vaginal delivery were enrolled
between 30 and 32 weeks gestation after informing them in
detail about the study during ANC. After, they were assured
that their participation is entirely voluntary, and an
individual written consent was then obtained. The consented
women were allocated into either experimental or control
using a randomisation sequence. Those in the experimental
group were informed to bring someone of their choice to act
as a companion during labour. The experimental group
consisted of women that received routine care and social
support while the controls received only routine care. Each
study participant was monitored for clinical outcomes from
the onset of established labour until two hours after childbirth