The constant pursuit of patient safety and satisfaction is foundational to excellence in patient care. Involvement of the patient’s family has been shown to increase satisfaction and enhance the overall medical experience. Many hospitals allow parents into the operating room for induction of anesthesia in their children. In the area of labor and delivery, epidural anesthesia has been shown to not only reduce the pain of labor but also relieve anxiety of both the patient and the partner. A question yet to be answered is whether or not the presence of the partner during placement of the epidural reduces anxiety and increases satisfaction.
A study by Orbach-Zinger et al published in Anesth Analg 2012 (Partner’s presence during initiation of epidural labor analgesia does not decrease maternal stress: a prospective randomized controlled trial.) seeks to assess whether the partner’s presence during labor epidural chtheter placement reduces mother and partner anxiety level. The study included 84 couples who were divided into two groups; partner present or partner absent during catheter placement. Anxiety levels, pain and time to placement were measured.
At baseline, there was no difference in anxiety or pain between the groups. During catheter placement, anxiety levels and pain during insertion were significantly higher in the group with the partner present. The authors concluded that partner presence during epidural catheter insertion did not decrease anxiety levels. The anxiety and pain of catheter placement were greater with the partner present.
Click here to read the original abstract of this study.