Do occupations affect the experience of prolonged labour pain? A national study of women in India

Abstract Introduction Prolonged labour pain is a challenging aspect of childbirth. This study examined how a woman's job affects her prolonged labour pain experience in India's diverse healthcare and socioeconomic landscape. Methods The National Family Health Survey 5, a nationwide study c...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Koustuv Dalal, Sayantan Chakraborty, Shukla Mandal, Mikael Nordenmark, Bodil J. Landstad
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Springer 2025-05-01
Series:Discover Social Science and Health
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1007/s44155-025-00239-9
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849326030734491648
author Koustuv Dalal
Sayantan Chakraborty
Shukla Mandal
Mikael Nordenmark
Bodil J. Landstad
author_facet Koustuv Dalal
Sayantan Chakraborty
Shukla Mandal
Mikael Nordenmark
Bodil J. Landstad
author_sort Koustuv Dalal
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Introduction Prolonged labour pain is a challenging aspect of childbirth. This study examined how a woman's job affects her prolonged labour pain experience in India's diverse healthcare and socioeconomic landscape. Methods The National Family Health Survey 5, a nationwide study conducted in India investigated the correlation between occupation and prolonged labour pain among 176,385 women aged 15–49 with a 97% survey response rate. Information on labour pain duration and intensity, alongside demographic factors was collected through structured interviews, medical records, and self-reporting. Occupation, age, education, religion, and wealth index were analyzed as predictor variables using cross-tabulation, chi-square tests and multivariate logistic regression. Results Certain occupations in India, such as clerical, services/household, and agricultural, were linked to increased labour pain compared to women who were not employed. Among these, clerical workers reported the highest level of labour pain at 55.2%. The age group of 20–24 years demonstrated the highest prevalence of prolonged labour pain at 42.4%, and those aged 45–49 exhibited the lowest prevalence at 30.6%. Women with secondary education reported higher pain levels (41.6%) compared to others, this association did not remain significant in the multivariate analysis. Particularly, Hindu (41.9%), and Muslim women (37.6%), experienced more pain compared to other religions, while both the richest (41.7%) and middle-class (41.4%) women reported higher pain levels than other categories. Conclusion The research unveiled a correlation between occupation and prolonged labour pain. Policymakers can utilize these current findings to enhance preventive planning strategies. It's imperative to give due consideration to the factors identified in the study that are linked with prolonged labour pain. More in-depth primary studies are warranted to explore this issue further.
format Article
id doaj-art-1ec36296f7964efbb1223362a676aea5
institution Kabale University
issn 2731-0469
language English
publishDate 2025-05-01
publisher Springer
record_format Article
series Discover Social Science and Health
spelling doaj-art-1ec36296f7964efbb1223362a676aea52025-08-20T03:48:15ZengSpringerDiscover Social Science and Health2731-04692025-05-01511810.1007/s44155-025-00239-9Do occupations affect the experience of prolonged labour pain? A national study of women in IndiaKoustuv Dalal0Sayantan Chakraborty1Shukla Mandal2Mikael Nordenmark3Bodil J. Landstad4Division of Public Health Science, Department of Health Sciences, Mid Sweden UniversityDepartment of Public Health, Amity Medical School, Amity University HaryanaDepartment of Public Health, Amity Medical School, Amity University HaryanaDepartment of Health Sciences, Mid Sweden UniversityDepartment of Health Sciences, Mid Sweden UniversityAbstract Introduction Prolonged labour pain is a challenging aspect of childbirth. This study examined how a woman's job affects her prolonged labour pain experience in India's diverse healthcare and socioeconomic landscape. Methods The National Family Health Survey 5, a nationwide study conducted in India investigated the correlation between occupation and prolonged labour pain among 176,385 women aged 15–49 with a 97% survey response rate. Information on labour pain duration and intensity, alongside demographic factors was collected through structured interviews, medical records, and self-reporting. Occupation, age, education, religion, and wealth index were analyzed as predictor variables using cross-tabulation, chi-square tests and multivariate logistic regression. Results Certain occupations in India, such as clerical, services/household, and agricultural, were linked to increased labour pain compared to women who were not employed. Among these, clerical workers reported the highest level of labour pain at 55.2%. The age group of 20–24 years demonstrated the highest prevalence of prolonged labour pain at 42.4%, and those aged 45–49 exhibited the lowest prevalence at 30.6%. Women with secondary education reported higher pain levels (41.6%) compared to others, this association did not remain significant in the multivariate analysis. Particularly, Hindu (41.9%), and Muslim women (37.6%), experienced more pain compared to other religions, while both the richest (41.7%) and middle-class (41.4%) women reported higher pain levels than other categories. Conclusion The research unveiled a correlation between occupation and prolonged labour pain. Policymakers can utilize these current findings to enhance preventive planning strategies. It's imperative to give due consideration to the factors identified in the study that are linked with prolonged labour pain. More in-depth primary studies are warranted to explore this issue further.https://doi.org/10.1007/s44155-025-00239-9Pain during labourProfessionIndian contextMother's well-beingEmployment
spellingShingle Koustuv Dalal
Sayantan Chakraborty
Shukla Mandal
Mikael Nordenmark
Bodil J. Landstad
Do occupations affect the experience of prolonged labour pain? A national study of women in India
Discover Social Science and Health
Pain during labour
Profession
Indian context
Mother's well-being
Employment
title Do occupations affect the experience of prolonged labour pain? A national study of women in India
title_full Do occupations affect the experience of prolonged labour pain? A national study of women in India
title_fullStr Do occupations affect the experience of prolonged labour pain? A national study of women in India
title_full_unstemmed Do occupations affect the experience of prolonged labour pain? A national study of women in India
title_short Do occupations affect the experience of prolonged labour pain? A national study of women in India
title_sort do occupations affect the experience of prolonged labour pain a national study of women in india
topic Pain during labour
Profession
Indian context
Mother's well-being
Employment
url https://doi.org/10.1007/s44155-025-00239-9
work_keys_str_mv AT koustuvdalal dooccupationsaffecttheexperienceofprolongedlabourpainanationalstudyofwomeninindia
AT sayantanchakraborty dooccupationsaffecttheexperienceofprolongedlabourpainanationalstudyofwomeninindia
AT shuklamandal dooccupationsaffecttheexperienceofprolongedlabourpainanationalstudyofwomeninindia
AT mikaelnordenmark dooccupationsaffecttheexperienceofprolongedlabourpainanationalstudyofwomeninindia
AT bodiljlandstad dooccupationsaffecttheexperienceofprolongedlabourpainanationalstudyofwomeninindia