Earlier it was believed that various techniques taught during natural childbirth classes prepare a woman to face delivery and reduce the need for an epidural. Recent study revealed that these classes don’t have much effect on women during delivery.

Research team at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden studied data collected from 1,087 first-time mothers. These mothers were randomly divided into two groups. One group attended antenatal classes which offered relaxation techniques along with other information and the second group attended no such classes.

Data analysis revealed that there was no difference between experiences of childbirth and stress level in the two groups. The epidural rate was 52% and the spontaneous vaginal birth rate 66% in both groups. The caesarean section rate was 20% in the "natural" group and 21.5% in the standard group.

Satisfaction of the childbirth experience or postnatal parental stress (at three months) was similar in the women in the two groups.

Malin Bergström, a clinical psychologist who co-authored the study, said: "Our conclusion is that natural childbirth preparation with psychoprophylaxis does not reduce the need for epidural analgesia or improve the birth experience, when compared with the standard form of antenatal education."