Labour Pain Relief
What is Painless Delivery?
Expecting a baby is one of the most memorable journeys of a woman’s life. The physical and hormonal changes that come along with it are unique. If you are pregnant, it is obvious for you to worry about labour & the pain you are going to face during the labour process. Modern medicine has brought about some revolutionary advancement that reduces the pain during childbirth to an acceptable level. This technique of normal delivery is known as Epidural Analgesia or painless normal delivery.
What are different types of labour analgesia?
In my practice, I use TENS ( Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) when patient gets 3 cms dilated, in early labour process and explain husband about acupressure points to be pressed during contractions, so that the intensity of pain really goes down and that helps to progress faster along with intramuscular/ intravenous medication.
Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, or TENS, is a form of pain relief without medicine. It can be used in labour to help with the pain.
Two electrodes are stuck to your skin and connected to a Battery powered machine. The machine delivers small pulses of electrical current to the body.
There are various types of labor analgesia, including pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods.
- Pharmacological methods include the use of epidural analgesia, spinal analgesia, intravenous opioids, and nitrous oxide.
- Non-pharmacological methods include relaxation techniques, breathing techniques, massage, and hydrotherapy.
In my practice, I use TENS ( Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) when patient gets 3 cms dilated, in early labour process and explain husband about acupressure points to be pressed during contractions, so that the intensity of pain really goes down and that helps to progress faster along with intramuscular/ intravenous medication.
Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, or TENS, is a form of pain relief without medicine. It can be used in labour to help with the pain.
Two electrodes are stuck to your skin and connected to a bettery-powred machine. The machine delivers small pulses of electrical current to the body.
What is epidural analgesia?
Epidural analgesia is the most common method of pain relief during labour and delivery. It involves the administration of local anaesthetics (medications) and/or opioids through a catheter placed into the epidural space in the lower back.
The epidural provides effective pain relief, but it can also cause side effects such as a drop in blood pressure, headache, and difficulty pushing during the second stage of labour.
The goal of the epidural is to reduce the pain of contractions. Epidural analgesia usually, also reduces the pain completely when your baby is delivered. This is a good option for women with a lower pain bearing capacity, who would otherwise opt for a C-section.
How Is the Epidural Anaesthesia Administered?
You may be required to sit still with your back arched while you are given the pain relief drug. The doctor will insert a thin tube into the lower part of your spinal cord. The needle is removed, and the catheter (thin tube) is taped into place so that the epidural anaesthesia can be administered during labour. The drug takes about 10-15 minutes to take effect. The drug to reduce labour pain is continuously administrated through this tube with the help of an infusion pump.
What are the advantages of Epidural Analgesia?
- Painless delivery gives women a chance at experiencing natural childbirth, with very little intervention. It has helped in bringing down the number of elective C-sections in India.
- By alleviating pain, it allows the mother to focus on the delivery. It is an aid for relaxation and can prevent exhaustion and irritation experienced by most women during childbirth, thereby reducing the risk of developing postpartum complications.
- Epidural analgesia helps the baby descend easily by relaxing the pelvic and vaginal muscles.
- It also helps in lowering the blood pressure of the mother, which otherwise can rise to dangerous levels during labour.
- Heavy pain may affect those mothers who have a history of cardiac complications or who are experiencing heart problem. In such cases, the painless delivery will be favourable.
- Due to the excessive torment and pain, the mother secrets more stress hormones which cause a great deal of irritation and distress to the child as well as the mother. Since, Epidural analgesia reduces the pain and torment, the number of hormones produced will be very less and hence, both mother and child can be comfortable.
- The tolerance of bearing pain decreases with aging (more than 30 years). Hence, elderly mothers can take the advantage of normal child delivery with epidural analgesia or the painless delivery option.
What are the risks or side effects of Epidural Analgesia?
- While the epidural is completely safe for the mother and the baby, it may leave you with side effects such as fever, breathing problems, nausea, dizziness, back pain, and shivering.
- The new mother may experience severe migraine-like headaches due to some epidural leakage into the spine.
- The labour may take longer than otherwise when an epidural is used.
- The mother may have trouble passing urine after childbirth. In that case, a catheter may be used.
- It causes numbness of the entire lower body, and it may be a while before you can walk.
- In stray cases, if the mother’s blood pressure goes down, it may cause a lowering of heart rate in the baby as well. In extreme cases, an emergency C-section may be performed.