Sterile water injections to reduce low back pain during
labour have been used for the last 25 years in Scandinavia
and since 1990 in the United States of America (USA)
and Canada. The technique is not featured in current
midwifery textbooks except for two USA publications.
This paper reviews the use of sterile water injections
in six studies published between 1990 and 2008,
the various techniques used by the researchers and
their results. The paper concludes with a discussion
around some considerations for practice that emerged
from these studies, including the different techniques
and the number and type of injections to use. The
evidence from the studies suggests that sterile water
injections are an effective method to relieve low back
pain in labour. They are simple to undertake and may
provide women with an alternative option to narcotics
and epidurals. The transitory pain experienced by the
women immediately after the injection appears to be
the only side effect.