Continuous labor support has so many benefits, and this large study that was just released confirms many of those. Read the entire article here, you can also download the study from Cochrane on this site.

Numerous graphs available within the full Continuous Support For Women During Childbirth review (PDF) compare all data that were available from all included studies for the specified outcomes of interest. Overall, women who received continuous support were less likely than women who did not to:

• have regional analgesia
• have any analgesia/anesthesia
• give birth with vacuum extraction or forceps
• give birth by cesarean
  
• have a baby with a low 5-minute Apgar score
  
• report dissatisfaction or a negative rating of their experience.