Non – drug pain relief options.
There is research to suggest that adequate preparation can help to reduce pain, or at least modify the prescription of pain, which allows the woman to better cope with labour.
Good physicial condition is important.
Knowing what to expect during the various stages of labour can help reduce anxiety.
Antenatal classes are strongly, recommended.
Breathing techniques may help you to ride the waves of each contraction.
Constant , close support from your husband ( or a trusted friend or loved one)
Medical pain relief options Pethidine
Pethidine is a strong sedative (related to morphine), usually given by intramuscular injection into the buttock. It may also be administered intravenously. Depending on various factor’s the effect of pethidine can last anywhere from two to four hours. Pethidine can make you feel sick, so anti nausea medications are usually administered at the same time. Possible problems with pethidine include.
Giddiness and nausea, hallucinations, disorientation and altered perception.
Respiratory depression (reduced breathing).
The unborn baby is exposed to the drug via the umbilical cord and may experience
respiratory depression.
Pethidine may inhibit the newborn’s sucking reflex, but this will only be for few hours.
Epidural anesthesia
Anesthetic is injected in the back in to the lining of the spinal cord, which makes the mother feel numb from the waist down. This option provides pain relief for vaginal delivery, or allows the mother to stay awake and alert during the baby’s birth by ceasaren section possible side effects and complications of epidural anesthesia include.
If the anesthesia isn’t injected into the correct spot, only one side of the body is numbed this requires a subsequent injection.
The lack of sensation in the lower body means a urinary catheter must be inserted in many cases.
Epidurals can lengthen the duration of tabour in many cases.
The woman can’t feel her muscles and is unable to push, which means the baby may have to be delivered by forceps or vacuum cup,
Around one per cent of women experience headache or migraine immediately following the procedure.
Around 1in 550 women experience ongoing patches of numbness on the back near the injection site.