RIPC and labour pain

Rationale: Remote ischemic preconditioning as a non-invasive, non-pharmacological method for pain relief during labour.

Objective: Reduce the need for other analgesia after RIPC by investigating the efficacy of remote ischemic preconditioning on pain during labour.

Study design: Randomized, single blinded, placebo controlled, pilot intervention study

Study population: Women > 18 years at 37-42 gestational weeks and planned for labour induction.

Intervention: Randomization creates 2 groups. One group will undergo 3 cycles of ischemia for 5 minutes (50 mmHg above own systolic blood pressure) followed by 5 minutes of reperfusion. In the other group the tourniquet pressure is 20 mmHg with the same 3 cycles and this is the control group.

Main study parameters/endpoints: The time between the intervention and the need for any (other) analgesia

Remote ischemic preconditioning as a non-invasive, non-pharmacological method for pain relief during labour

This study requires to ask for pain and comfort scores after 10 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour and then every hour after the intervention till one hour after childbirth.

Randomization creates 2 groups. One group will undergo 3 cycles of ischemia for 5 minutes (50 mmHg above own systolic blood pressure) followed by 5 minutes of reperfusion. In the other group the tourniquet pressure is 20 mmHg with the same 3 cycles and this is the control group.