Among worst nightmares of a pregnant woman, labor pain is a prominent one. Not everyone will have the same story to tell about labor pain. While some women can take the pain without much of a problem, for others it can be a nerve wrecking experience. Thanks to the development in science and technology, today, one can opt for a number of measures to tackle the tremors of labor pain, effectively. If you are presented with several options at the very last moment, it will definitely be difficult for you to choose a mode of pain management. Hence, it is absolutely necessary that you have a prior idea about the pain relief options that you can opt from.
Read on to know more about the effective methods of pain relief in labor that you can put into practice.
1. Water
Water is found to be an effective agent that helps in providing pain relief during labor. It is found that warm water helps in making the labor contractions more bearable. Keeping this factor in mind, more and more woman now opt for undergoing water births, Water births can be done at hospitals and even your homes. But if you opt for a home water birth, then ensure that you have your midwife or doctor just by your side during the birthing process.
A hot water bottle held close to your tummy will also help in soothing labor aches. You should see to it that the water in the bottle is not too hot and should also wrap the bottle in a towel before you use it.
2. Practice relaxation techniques
Practicing relaxation techniques are found to be quite effective in helping one cope with labor pain. Controlled breathing is a form of relaxation therapy which will help you calm down and will also help you to go through the labor conveniently. These techniques are found to be quite effective for those women who go in for an non-medicated birthing option. However, for the relaxation techniques to be effective, it is necessary that you practice them well beforehand throughout your period of pregnancy, and not just during the time of labor.
3. Use entonox
Using entonox is a form of pain relief method which is practiced at hospitals. Here the patient is made to inhale entonox, which is a mixture of oxygen and nitrous oxide, at the beginning of each contraction. This air- gas mixture is administered with the help of a mask or mouthpiece. This is quite a safe pain relief practice which can be carried out in conjunction with other pain relief methods.
4.TENS for pain relief
Using TENS or Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation, is another method of commonly practiced pain relief . This is a machine, which will be attached to your lower back region by the use of pads. Through these pads, electrical pulses that have the capability of blocking the stimuli of pain, are transferred to your body. The intensity of the pulses can be controlled in accordance with the level of pain experienced by the pregnant woman.
Earlier, the TENS machine was only available in hospitals. But nowadays, one can easily buy these machines at a nearby dealer or else can also hire them from chemists and hospitals.
5. Take injections
In order to decrease the intensity of labor pain, one can take medicated injections. These injections, which contain opiate based drugs like pethidine or meptid, will be injected into your thighs or bottom region. These drugs will start their action after 20 minutes of injection, and will then continue their action for 2 to 4 hours.
However, these injections come along with many unwanted side effects. Nausea and dizziness are two common side effects that usually come along with the drug intake. It is also seen that the opiate injections can also affect the baby, thereby causing him or her to be unusually sleepy for several days after birth. This can create serious problems while you try to breastfeed your child.
6. Take epidural
Epidural is the most common form of birth pain relief that is practiced in hospitals. This is an anesthetic that is administered through a fine tube which is attached to your back. The action of this local anesthetic will numb the nerves around your stomach region, thereby providing relief from the painful contractions.
It is seen that one in a hundred women complain about headache, after epidural administration. In the absence of proper administration, epidurals can fail to act completely, thereby leading to pain relief in only one side of the abdomen. Hence, it is essential that the anesthetist administers the epidural in the proper manner. Also, if you do not have a mobile epidural, then you will need to remain in bed until the delivery and will also need to use an urinary bag.
