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Theoretical Applications of Biofeedback Hand Temperature Training to Prepared (Lamaze) Childbirth Training

Early investigations of the control of various autonomic physiological functions employed Pavlovian conditioning. Investigators have observed that the operant control of these physiologicat responses was facilitated if S was provided with feedback concerning the particular physiological activity to be controlled (e.g., Miller, 1969). These techniques, applied to facilitate autonomic training in humans (Shapiro & Schwara, 1972), may present biological information, i.e., heart rate, temperature, to the trainee via visual and/or auditory displays. This method provides the trainee an objective record of his or her internal physiological state and allows the person to gain a high degree of voluntary control over what was involuntary activity. The psychoprophylactic childbirth method, promulgated in Western Europe in the 1950s by Lamaze (1970), includes both psychological reconditioning and physical preparation. This approach educates the expectant mother both in the physiological aspects of labor as well as in the psychological aspects of pain control. These techniques include: ( 1 ) respiratory control, ( 2 ) inducing a visual focal point (concentrating attention on one object to the exclusion of others), and ( 3 ) husband-coached relaxation under the rubric of Pavlovian conditioning. It is our contention that a more efficient means of facilitating relaxation training in preparation for and during labor could be effected through coadunation of biofeedback training and prepared (Lamaze) childbirth training. One of the most important aspects of the Lamaze method is the visual focal point in the field; the visual display (meter) of the hand temperature unit would provide a meaningful focal point on which a patient could concentrate. It might also be used as a more expedient way of inducing deep muscular relaxation than might possibly be attained during conventional Lamaze training. Work in our laboratory indicates that significant temperature increases are associated with deep relaxation while decreases in temperature are associated with decreased relaxation. This hypothesis is presently being investigated using biofeedback hand-temperature training.