Analysis of the pressure on the fingers and palms of midwife during second stage of labor

In Japan, midwives perform Japanese hands-on (perineal support), which is important to prevent perineal tears and to deliver safely. However, it is difficult for trainee midwives to acquire the procedures. Therefore, the advanced delivery simulator that enables the midwives to evaluate the skill objectively is demanded. In this paper, for realizing the delivery simulator, we focus on the pressure of midwives' fingers and palms during Japanese hands-on. Fundamental experiments were carried out using flexible pressure sensors. In experiments, six experts perform the Japanese hand-on using normal delivery phantom. From the analysis of pressure profile, the cooperation of the left and right hand was investigated.