METHOD
Ethics approval for the study was applied for and granted at each of the three organizations involved in the study ( Colac Area Health, Wimmera Health Care Group , Horsham and University of Ballarat)
Woman were recruited during their pregnancy at each of the participating hospitals . The intradermal sterile water injection technique was discussed and and they way shown a video demonstrating the procedure. Over seven hundred women completed a consent form to participate if they experienced back pain while in labour ; 432 women in Horsham and 270 women in Colac . the women consenting to participate in the study were made aware of the probable discomfort they woud experience, that is the stinging sensation felt when the sterile water injection was administered. Staff at each maternity unit also underwent formal competency training in the technique.
Sixty (60)women (30 at Colac and 30 at Horsham) agreed to participate in the clinical study when they experienced severe back pain during their labour. Once they identified a need for the sterile water injection an assessment of pain severity usinga Visual Analogue Scale ( VAS) was undertaken immediately prior to injection , five minutes after and every 30 minutes for up to three hours. The procedure involved the intradermal injection of 0.2-0.5 ml. of sterile water into four sites in the Michaelis Rhomdoid or lumbar-sacral region of the spine. Two midxives simultaneously injected to reduce the number of stinging sensations experienced by women.