Giving women enemas during labour does not shorten labour or decrease the risk of infection to mother or baby. Consequently there is no evidence for any routine use of enemas in labour, a Cochrane Review has found. Enemas are frequently given to women early in labour so that they empty their back passage. The idea is that this will give more room for the baby as it passes through the pelvis. It is also hoped that it will reduce the chance of the woman leaking faecal material while she is giving birth, a situation that is both embarrassing to the woman and a potential source of infection to mother and child.
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Background
Metrics details. Enemas are used during labour in obstetric settings with the belief that they reduce puerperal and neonatal infections, shorten labour duration, and make delivery cleaner for attending personnel. However, a systematic review of the literature found insufficient evidence to support the use of enemas. The objective of this RCT was to address an identified knowledge gap by determining the effect of routine enemas used during the first stage of labour on puerperal and neonatal infection rates. Outcomes: Clinical diagnosis of maternal or neonatal infections, labour duration, delivery types, episiotomy rates, and prescription of antibiotics. Participants: women admitted for delivery to the obstetrics service February to February and followed for a month after delivery. Intervention: 1 litre saline enema, versus no enema, allocated following a block random allocation sequence and using sealed opaque envelopes. This RCT found no evidence to support routine use of enemas during labour. Although these results cannot rule out a small clinical effect, it seems unlikely that enemas will improve maternal and neonatal outcomes and provide an overall benefit. Peer Review reports.
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The 'lavement' referred is a euphemism for the clyster. The legend considers it socially correct that a lady should be administered an enema before she ventures out for an evening's entertainment. See Dixon on the use of enemas on young ladies as a 'cure' for listlessness or noncompliance with the laws of polite society. Getting here. Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4. Wellcome Collection.
Enemas are no longer a part of standard pre-labor procedure. Enemas are no longer routinely given to birthing mothers. Practitioners once adopted this practice to empty a woman's bowels before her baby made his way through the birth canal, believing that with less crowding, the baby would emerge more easily and into a more sterile environment. Mothers didn't protest because everyone is embarrassed by the possibility of having a bowel movement as well as a baby in the delivery room. But since most labors are hailed by loose bowel movements before contractions even get going, you don't have much waste stored up anyway. There's very little evidence that giving you an enema will make birth any easier or cleaner. All content on this Web site, including medical opinion and any other health-related information, is for informational purposes only and should not be considered to be a specific diagnosis or treatment plan for any individual situation. Use of this site and the information contained herein does not create a doctor-patient relationship.
