Pain During Pregnancy and Delivery

Even though it is possible to have relatively little pain during labor and delivery, you should prepare yourself for the idea of pain and you should give thought to strategies for coping with the pain.  This can help reduce your anxiety and will help you deal with the actual pain.

A concern that most pregnant women have is how they will cope with the pain of labor and childbirth. Because you cannot tell in advance how much pain or discomfort you will have during birth or how you will cope with it, you should think about the possibility that you may need some form of pain relief help.

The following information regarding pain has been adapted from the websites listed at the bottom of the page.

There are many types of pain help besides medication and many women worry that medications given during labor or childbirth will somehow make the experience less natural. The fact is, no two labors or deliveries are the same, and no two people have exactly the same ability to tolerate pain. Some women require little or no help with pain, while many others find that pain relief gives them a better sense of control over their labor and delivery.

Your preferences will be taken into account in deciding what type of pain relief is best for you, but many other factors, including your well-being and that of your baby, will affect this choice. Keep in mind that often your health care provider will not be able to tell you exactly what kind of pain relief will receive until you are in labor and delivery.

Each woman's labor will be different and everyone experiences pain differently. That's why it is important that the decision you make about pain relief be the right one for you.

Types of Pain Relief

ChildBirth classes help a woman to learn what to expect during labor and delivery, as well as breathing methods, relaxation techniques, and other ways of coping with pain and discomfort including hypnosis, yoga, meditation, massage, and changing positions.  These classes can be quite valuable and many women are able to use these techniques to get through childbirth without the need for pain medication.

Analgesia medication relives pain without total loss of sensation. A person receiving an analgesic medication usually remains conscious. While analgesics don't completely stop pain, they do lessen it. Systemic analgesics provide pain relief over the entire body without causing loss of consciousness. They act on the whole nervous system, rather than on one particular area. Systemic are often given as an injection into a muscle or vein.

Epidural block (also called an epidural) is the most effective and popular method of pain relief. It is used by more than half of all laboring women in the United States. An injection given near the nerves in the lower back numbs your lower body. It blocks pain from contractions, while allowing you to be awake and alert. An epidural can also be used for a cesarean delivery. It usually has little or no effect on your baby. You will not lose consciousness unless you are given general anesthesia, which is usually reserved for cesarean or emergency delivery.

With epidural analgesia, it may be harder for the mother to bear down and help the baby move through the birth canal. It may be necessary for the baby to be delivered with forceps or vacuum extraction, special instruments that are placed around or attached to the baby's head to help guide it out of the birth canal.  An epidural can have other drawbacks.  A few women experience a drop in blood pressure that can temporarily slow the baby's heart rate. Some women also experience mild itching, shivering or a fever. Serious side effects in the mother are rare but can include severe headache that can last for days or weeks, breathing problems, and dizziness.

Spinal block involves numbing the lower half of the body. A spinal block, like an epidural block, is given as an injection in the lower back. However, a spinal block has to be injected into the spinal fluid, so the needle is inserted a little deeper. Because the effects of the drug do not last long, and because a spinal block is usually given only once, this form of anesthesia is best suited for pain relief during delivery (not labor). It is the pain relief method most often used for cesarean birth.  Spinal block can sometimes cause some of the same side effects as epidural block.

Local Anesthesia usually affects a small area, and so are especially useful when the health care provider has to make an episiotomy (a small cut, or incision made in the perineum, the area between the vagina and the rectum, before the baby passes through). Local anesthetics are also helpful when this incision, or any tears that might have occurred during birth, are repaired.

General anesthetics are medications that make you lose consciousness. When general anesthesia is used during childbirth, the mother will not be awake or feel any pain during delivery. It is not used to relieve the pain of labor. General anesthesia is rarely used for routine vaginal deliveries. It is often used for cesarean delivery or other urgent situations.

Hypnosis has been found to be successful in reducing, and in some cases eliminating, pain.  Hypnosis requires a trained hypnotherapy and practice on your part.