Contribution of pelvic hot shower therapy to effectiveness in 2nd trimester medical abortions (Balsak's hot shower technique)

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to investigate the effects of the pelvic hot shower in missed second-trimester abortions. Material and Methods: A total of 125 pregnant patients with fetal demise were included in this study. They were divided into two groups according to the treatment used to induce abortion. One group was treated with misoprostol only (n:74), and the other group received medical treatment and pelvic hot shower therapy (n:51). A pelvic hot shower application was applied when the patient's vaginal bleeding started. Hot water at 55-60 oC was applied to the pelvic region for 30 minutes. Results: There was no difference between the two groups regarding age, body mass index (BMI), and gestational week. (p> 0.05) After the induction started, the duration of the abortion was 8.57 hours in the pelvic shower group and 12.97 hours in the misoprostol group. The difference of abortion times among the groups was statistically significant (p: 0.039*). The total dose of used misoprostol that caused vaginal contraction for abortionwas 396 mg in the patient with pelvic shower and 614 mg in the misoprostol group; the difference was statistically significant (p< 0.001). The  Visual Analogue Scale VAS score and analgesic requirements were significantly lower in the pelvic shower therapy group (p<0.05). Conclusion: Pelvic hot shower application is an accessible, applicable, simple, effective, and inexpensive beneficial method for patients in the induced 2nd trimester.