Partner presence in labor: does it influence maternal anxiety and childbirth experience beyond pain?

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the association between partner presence during labor and maternal state anxiety, birth satisfaction, and pain perception in women undergoing spontaneous labor.

METHODS

This prospective comparative observational study included women with singleton term pregnancies, spontaneous active labor, and vaginal delivery. Women with labor induction, epidural analgesia, additional obstetric pathology, systemic disease, or known psychiatric illness were excluded. Maternal anxiety was assessed using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Form TX-1 (STAI TX-1) during active labor, pain intensity using a visual analog scale (VAS) during the active phase, and birth satisfaction using the Birth Satisfaction Scale-Revised (BSS-R) within the first 24 h postpartum.

RESULTS

Of the 168 women, 68 labored with partner presence and 100 without. Women accompanied by their partner had significantly lower STAI TX-1 scores and higher BSS-R scores than those without partner accompaniment (both p < 0.001), whereas VAS pain scores did not differ significantly between groups (p = 0.428). Birth satisfaction was inversely correlated with anxiety (Spearman's rho=-0.373, p < 0.001) and weakly positively correlated with pain (Spearman's rho = 0.198, p = 0.010). In multivariable analyses, partner presence remained independently associated with lower anxiety (unstandardized regression coefficient [B]=-5.24, 95% CI -7.14 to -3.34, p < 0.001) and higher birth satisfaction (B = 2.57, 95% CI 1.24 to 3.90, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Partner presence during labor was associated with lower maternal anxiety and higher birth satisfaction, without a significant difference in pain intensity. These findings suggest that the beneficial contribution of partner accompaniment may be more closely related to psychological and experiential factors than to pain reduction alone during the childbirth process.