Each woman during labour, experiences and tolerates pain. In some cases, the labour may be short i.e. 4 to 8 hours, but in other cases it may go on up to 24 hours, especially in first pregnancy. The perception of pain during labour and delivery differs between individuals.
Many expecting mothers would like to experience a normal delivery but without the labour pain. Painless delivery using epidural analgesia is an advance in pain management during labour, which ensures that a pregnant woman has a comfortable labour.
To opt for painless delivery, is utterly the couple’s choice. But in the end, it is a soothing experience to have a healthy and beautiful baby without any tiring labour pains which are generally a part and parcel of a normal delivery.
Epidural Analgesia is a regional anaesthesia in which an anaesthetic drug is injected near the spinal cord in the spinal canal. It numbs the body below the waist, but the movements are not impaired.
Epidural analgesia is given only when labour is well set and the cervix or the opening of the uterus is at least 3-4 cm.
It can be given as a single injection or in multiple doses through a special epidural catheter by a skilled anaesthetist, at regular intervals depending on the requirement and intensity of the pain
In this method lady’s back is cleaned with an antiseptic liquid and the area where the catheter is to be introduced is numbed with a local anaesthetic. The needle is then passed into the epidural space, small doses of medicines is introduced into the lower back spine through a fine plastic tube. This medicine so injected relives pain while labour and descent of the baby continues.
Painless delivery using epidural analgesia is very popular and is being used safely for more than 20 years. This technique of making labour a painless experience has been appreciated and acknowledged by patients who have opted for it.
