Pain Relief

Pain relief during labour

We all experience and express pain differently. While there's no denying that labour is painful, there's no way to measure the pain. Needless to say, after delivery, when you see your child, the pain is forgotten about. Some women insist on a drug free labour, and some demand whatever is on offer. Most take the middle ground, prefering to do it naturally, but reserve the right to change their minds if the going gets really tough.

Physical therapy

Physical therapy helps many women cope with pain. You can try:
Massage
Heat walking
Showering
Bathing
Rocking in a chair
Squatting on a birthing ball  

Pain relief medication

Epidural

Epidural anaesthesia offers longer-acting pain management without affecting the baby. In an epidural, an anaesthesiologist will numb a small area of your lower back and insert a catheter through a needle into the space surrounding the spine. Through the catheter, medication can be inserted continuously throughout labour. An epidural will numb you from the waist down, virtually taking away the pain. If you're thinking about an epidural, don't wait too long to ask for it. You'll need to receive intravenous fluids before the epidural can be started, which takes about 30 minutes.

Making the decision

Labour is unpredictable. Until you're there, you won't know whether you'll want pain relief medication. And if one technique doesn't work, you may want to try another. So find out as much as you can by talking to your doctor or midwife about the options available at your hospital.