Length of perineal pain relief after ice pack application: A quasi-experimental study

IntroductionIce pack is effective for alleviating postpartum perineal pain in primiparous women while multiparous women's levels of perineal pain appear to be poorly explored. Ice pack is a low-cost non-invasive localised treatment that can be used with no impact on breastfeeding. However, how long perineal analgesia persists after applying an ice pack is still unknown.ObjectiveTo evaluate if perineal analgesia is maintained up to 2 h after applying an ice pack to the perineum for 20 min.MethodA quasi-experimental study, using a pre and post-test design, was undertaken with a sample size of 50 multiparous women in Brazil. Data was collected by structured interview. The intervention involved a single application of an ice pack applied for 20 min to the perineal area of women who reported perineal pain ≥3 by use of a numeric rating scale (0–10), with intact perineum, 1st or 2nd degree lacerations or episiotomy, between 6 and 24 h after spontaneous vaginal birth. Perineal pain was evaluated at three points of time: before, immediately after and 2 h after applying an ice pack.ResultsImmediately after applying an ice pack to the perineal area, there was a significant reduction in the severity of perineal pain reported (5.4 vs. 1.0, p < 0.0005), which continued for 1 h 35 min up to 2 h after the local application.ConclusionIce pack application for 20 min is effective for alleviating postpartum perineal pain and continues to be effective between 1 h 35 min for up to 2 h.