Childbirth: Encyclopedia II - Childbirth - Pain

Childbirth - Pain

The amounts of pain experienced by women during childbirth vary. For some women, the perceived pain is intense and agonizing; for other women there is little to no perceived pain. Many factors affect pain perception, including cultural ideas of childbirth, fear, number of previous births, fetal presentation, birthing position, and a woman's natural pain threshold. Uterine contractions are always intense during childbirth, but a woman may or may not experience them as pain.

Some women sleep through much of the labor. Rarely, mothers experience very pleasurable sensations and muscular contractions which they believe to be orgasms.

Childbirth - Non-medical pain control

Many women believe that reliance on analgesic medication is unnatural, or worry that it may harm the child, but are still very concerned about labour pain. To alleviate pain, they may undergo psychological preparation, education, massage, hypnosis, water therapy in a tub or shower. Most women also find helpful the emotional support and comfort measures by a husband, partner, or a trained professional doula. Birthing in a squatting or crawling position will usually help, though the position is awkward for observers. These methods present no risk to the mother or baby, and many find them effective.

Childbirth - Medical pain control

In Europe, doctors commonly prescribe inhaled nitrous oxide gas for pain control; in the UK, midwives may use this gas without a doctor's prescription. Pethidine (with or without promethazine) may be used early in labour, as well as other opioids; if given too late, they may cause respiratory depression in the infant.

Popular medical pain control in hospitals include regional anesthetics (epidural blocks, or spinal anaesthesia); these anesthetics are often used for pain control, and are a necessity for Cesarean surgery, unless the patient undergoes general anesthetic. Doctors favor the epidural block because medication does not enter the mother's circulatory system, thus it does not cross the placenta and enter the bloodstream of the fetus.

Different measures for pain control have varying degrees of success and side effects to mother and baby. Administration must be carefully timed. For example, an epidural block given too early in labour can stop or slow labour, and given too late in labour can hinder maternal efforts to push out the baby. These risks should be balanced against the fact that childbirth can be extremely painful, and anesthetics are an effective and generally safe pain treatment.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Pain", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki