Managing Pain During Childbirth

I'm not interested in being Wonder Woman in the delivery room. Give me drugs.

Madonna

Pain Management Options

Natural Childbirth –Lamaze

Women have been giving birth since the dawn of time, and over the millennia, methods for natural pain management have evolved.  Even today, many women still choose to ‘go natural’ so as not to lose any of the experience of childbirth.  There are some reports of long-term side effects of some of the pain management options involving drugs, but they are uncommon in general.

Giving birth naturally can obviously be a very painful experience and is sometimes looked at as one of the most painful human experiences.  Methods such as those taught by Lamaze revolve around ‘focusing’ and ‘breathing’ techniques, which serve to help mentally deal with the pain and discomfort of delivery. 

The Lamaze method, which is taught in many prenatal classes, was created by _________ in 19__ and  utilizes rhythmic and repetitive actions to take your mental awareness away from concentrating on any pain and have been successfully used for many years.  Lamaze instructors are certified in the technique, which involves practicing breathing and sounds to establish a rhythm. ‘ Hee, Hee, Hoo…..and breathe, repeated over and over as labor progresses, serves to induce somewhat of a ‘trancelike’ state that women report enable them to get through the pain, somewhat like having a child say their ABC’s while they are getting a shot.  By focusing on something else that requires mental concentration, the brain is less focused on the pain you are experiencing.  Even if you are choosing to use a pain management option that involves drugs, it is a good thing to have learned natural pain management just in case you are a mother that has a rapid onset of labor such that you progress too quickly to have a drug option administered.

Epidural

Epidurals are the most common method of pain management during pregnancy.  The epidural was invented by Dr. ______ in 19___ and requires an anesthesiologist.  In a routine epidural procedure, an anesthesiologist will perform the insertion procedure right before, or at the onset, of labor.  Therefore it is smart to research this option so you can notify the hospital upon admission to L & D.  Once a certain point of labor has passed, it will be too late to have an epidural and your option will be a natural delivery.  An epidural takes place through a thin tube called a catheter, that a doctor inserts in the space that surrounds your spinal cord.  The catheter remains in your spine before and during delivery, and enables an anesthesiologist to deliver pain medication as needed, while delivery takes place.  The medication affects only your lower body, and does not take anything away from your mental awareness during delivery.  It also does not affect your ability to push or control your legs during delivery.  In some cases, women report feeling numb from the waste down, and there have also been reports of women getting headaches, sometimes severe, after experiencing an epidural.  To date, however, there has been no proven long term side effects of epidurals, and thousands of procedures are performed every month throughout the world.

Spinal Block

Spinal blocks were invented in 19____ and unlike an epidural, pain medication with spinal blocks is delivered directly into your spinal fluid as opposed to being delivered into the space around your spine.  Rather than a catheter remaining in your spine and delivering continuous drugs during delivery, a spinal block is a one-time injection of medication. A spinal block offers immediate pain relief and is usually performed for women experiencing a rapid onset and progression of labor. Because it can be administered rapidly, spinal blocks are sometimes used when time does not permit for the insertion of a catheter for an epidural. Advantages of Spinal Blocks are; 1. The rapid onset of relief, and 2; a one time injection.  The main disadvantage of a Spinal Block is that the pain relief does not last as long as an epidural, so if it turns out that you have a long labor, you may experience some pain as the Spinal Block wears off.

Combination of

Epidural and Spinal Block

Combining both a spinal block and epidural is a relatively newer procedure that is performed at the beginning of labor, and offers the best of both options-rapid relief as well as continuous control of pain during delivery.  The benefits of the combination allows a woman to get up and walk around the hospital [which helps labor progress]