Managing Pain During Labor and Delivery

The Basics

Written by the doctors and editors at UpToDate пїЅ пїЅ

How painful is labor and delivery? " пїЅ The pain of labor and delivery is different for every woman. It depends on many factors, including the size of your baby and the way he or she is positioned in your uterus. The pain is usually mild early on in labor, but gets worse as you get closer to delivery. пїЅ пїЅ

Should I make a plan to manage my pain? " пїЅ Yes. Talk with your doctor, nurse, or midwife toward the end of pregnancy about how you can manage pain during labor and delivery. There are many ways to manage pain, and no one way works for everyone. The right decision is the one that is best for you. пїЅ пїЅ

Although its helpful to make a plan before you go into labor, keep in mind that your plan can change. That's because your labor can be more or less painful than you expect. пїЅ пїЅ

What are the different ways I can manage my pain? " пїЅ In general, you can manage your pain with: пїЅ пїЅ

Things you can do on your own
Medicines

What can I do on my own to manage my pain? " пїЅ To help lessen your pain, you can: пїЅ пїЅ

Change your body position
Do relaxation or breathing exercises
Take a shower or bath
Have someone massage your lower back
Put heat or cold on your lower back
Listen to music
Take a walk
Have a "doula " пїЅ help you " пїЅ A doula is a person who stays with you during labor and delivery to support and reassure you.

What if I want medicine to manage my pain? " пїЅ If you want medicine during labor, let your doctor or nurse know. Doctors can use different medicines to help manage the pain of labor and delivery. пїЅ пїЅ

These medicines work in different ways. Some medicines lessen pain, but still let you feel pressure and other sensations. Other medicines block pain as well as other sensations. The medicines are also given in different ways. пїЅ пїЅ

Most women can have the following medicines: пїЅ пїЅ

Opioid medicines " пїЅ These are strong pain medicines that you can get through your IV or as a shot into your muscle. These medicines lessen pain, but do not make it go away completely.
An epidural block " пїЅ For an epidural block, a doctor will put a thin tube in your back. He or she will give you medicine through this tube. The medicine can remove all of the pain in the lower part of your body. An epidural block takes 10 to 20 minutes to start working.

What are the downsides of the different medicines? " пїЅ Some downsides depend on the medicine itself, while others depend on how your body reacts to it. пїЅ пїЅ

Some common downsides of an epidural block include the following: пїЅ пїЅ

After you get an epidural block, you will probably need to stay in bed and won't be able to walk around.
You might have trouble pushing your baby out, because you won't have as much feeling in the lower part of your body.
An epidural block can lower your blood pressure.
After the birth, you might have a headache.

Some common downsides of opioids include the following: пїЅ пїЅ

Opioids can cause nausea or vomiting, or make you feel sleepy.
These medicines can't be given too close to delivery because they can make the baby too sleepy.

All topics are updated as new evidence becomes available and our peer review process is complete. пїЅ пїЅ

This topic retrieved from UpToDate on: Nov 04, 2014. пїЅ пїЅ

Topic 16908 Version 3.0 пїЅ пїЅ

Release: 22.8 - C22.208 пїЅ пїЅ

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Managing Pain During Labor and Delivery

The Basics

Consumer Information Use and Disclaimer

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