our findings, midwives might suggest
techniques to alleviate the urge to push and to
help the woman cope with it, such as change
of maternal position, breathing techniques,
vocalisation, lumbar back massage and use of the
bath. Epidural analgesia could be proposed by
midwives when the woman is struggling to cope
with EPU after alternative non-pharmacological
techniques are suggested.However, there is no
available evidence supporting the idea that early
pushes are harmful in physiological conditionsฃ
llObserving a number of women experiencing
EPU in labour
ll Good team working and peer support.
The optimum approach to EPU needs to be
further studied and a larger-scale study, including
several contexts, should be considered. In
particular, the association between midwives’
approaches at different cervical dilatation
and maternal/neonatal outcomes should be
investigated