The goal of labor support is to help a woman chieve her wishes during labor, through offering companionship, attention to her emotional needs, and active helping. The importance of support for women in labor cannot be overestimated. Women remember their childbirth experiences for the rest of their lives. Regardless of the type of labor (short or long, normal or complicated)or the outcome of the labor, the quality of support a woman receives can make the difference in whether she recalls her experience as depersonlaizing and degrading or as one that increased her self-esteem and self-confidence.

"Numerous simple, nonpharmacologic methods of pain relief can be initiated during labor by a nurse, midwife, physician or lay person. Some can be as effective as narcotics and provide adequate pain relief to the well supported woman who experiences a reasonably normal labor. They may be used either instead of or as an adjunct to narcotics or an epidural, and when combined with these agents, may reduce the total dosage of narcotics or postpone the epidural until active labor, both of which reduce undesired effects. Many of these comfort measures employ movement, positioning, and gravity, and have the benefit of speeding slow progress in labor. Others, by promoting relaxation and a sense of well-being"(Simkin,1995).