Your Pain Relief Choices In Labour
It’s only natural to feel worried about labour pains. But knowledge is power, so understanding your pain relief options is key to making the best choices for you – and your baby. Knowing about the stages of labour and how your body works to bring your amazing baby into the world will help you cope. And although we’d all prefer a drug-free labour, it’s not always possible, so knowing your options – and when you can ask for them – is crucial. Here are some of the most common forms of pain relief.
Birthing Pool
Like a warm bath, a birthing pool can help ease aches and pains. Most importantly, it allows you to relax, meaning that you can cope better with your contractions and make use of the breathing techniques you have learned. The water takes the weight off your bump and allows an upright position in comfort. You have the choice of having your baby in the water or returning to dry land for the birth! You’ll have to get out if you want to use a TENS machine or have an epidural.
Gas and Air
This colourless and odourless gas, Entonox, is a mix of oxygen and nitrous oxide – or laughing gas! It doesn’t cut down on pain very much but it does relax you and it can help to make you feel calmer, more in control. It is very safe, wears off quickly and doesn’t affect your baby. Its benefits are that it works within a minute and you control it yourself by breathing through a mouthpiece. It is only mild and causes some women to feel sick. It’s good in most stages of labour. For more on Gas and Air, click here.
Pethidine
An opium derivative, this is effective at helping you cope with contraction pain and can be used while your cervix is dilating. It can’t be given too close to the birth, as it might affect your baby. It is given by injection into your thigh and can be prescribed by your midwife in hospital or by a GP if you’re having a home birth (you’ll need to order it before your due date and store it properly). It can make you feel sick so an anti- sickness drug can be used at the same time, or a little spaced out.
TENS
This stands for transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation and it’s an electrical device which has four sticky pads you place on your back and a hand-held control. It transmits electronic pulses to your nerves and this helps block pain messages to the brain. It’s effective for many women and has no side effects. It can’t be used in a birthing pool, though.
Epidural
Administered by an anaesthetist, this is a pain killer that works on the area below the waist, meaning that from there down, you are pain free – though can still feel your contractions. The anaesthetist passes a needle and then a fine tube into the spinal column and the anaesthetic is slowly dripped in, meaning you can keep it in place for some time. It’s especially good when contractions get stronger and if you’ve had your labour speeded up with an injection of Syntocinon. It’s not easy to move once it’s in place however and takes a while to start working. It can also make your baby drowsy but it is currently the most effective pain relief in labour.
Alternative Therapies
There are some methods of helping cope with labour that are non-invasive and include no drugs: your partner could help by massaging your lower back; you can learn breath- ing techniques that help you focus on the dilation of the cervix; certain essential oils such as rose can lessen the effects of pain when inhaled. Acupuncture has also been shown to have good results, as the needles block the pain pathways to the brain and this has no side effects.
Hypnobirthing
Thought of as a new method of pain control, this has actually been around for 20 years and is a form of self- hypnosis to encourage you to face labour without fear and put your trust in your own body and its ability to cope. Classes teach relaxation and breathing techniques and inform you about labour and birth, so you feel in control at every stage. A massage technique is taught to reduce tearing and episiotomies. The techniques can be used for any kind of birth, including a water birth.