Pain relief during childbirth is called epidural anesthesia. Currently, this procedure is widely practiced in clinics both for medical reasons and at the initiative of the women in labor themselves. The attitude towards such anesthesia is ambiguous.
The procedure for pain relief during childbirth
To anesthetize the birth process, a thin tube is passed into the lower back of the woman in labor. An anesthetic drug is supplied through it. The catheter is located in the epidural space, it surrounds the hard sheath of the spinal nerves and extends from the coccyx to the head. As a result, pain sensitivity at the level of the spinal cord is eliminated. Depending on the dose and type of drug, pain relief can be partial or complete. After delivery, the catheter is removed immediately.
Epidural anesthesia has its advantages. It does not affect the activity of the brain, does not alter consciousness, and blocks the production of stress hormones that slow down labor. There is also no information about the negative effect of drugs on the child. There is a decrease in blood pressure after the drug enters the body, which is positive for women with high blood pressure. But there are unpleasant effects, and there are many of them.
There is a feeling of numbness in the legs, often muscle tremors. There are problems with the respiratory system, the woman in labor is experiencing a lack of oxygen. This problem is resolved by using an oxygen mask. If the epidural anesthetic accidentally enters the general bloodstream, the woman may faint. But before performing the procedure, the doctor must make sure that the catheter is located in the nerves, and not in the vein. Sometimes during the procedure, there may be discomfort in the back, but they are short-lived. After the procedure, long-term pain in the head and back is possible, especially when moving from a horizontal position to a vertical one.
Should I do it or not?
So should you resort to epidural anesthesia or not? The question of its influence on childbirth is still controversial. The effect of anesthesia in each individual case is unpredictable. In the first stage of labor, it may not affect the process in any way, but may speed it up or slow it down. It is believed that the process of expulsion of the fetus under the influence of epidural anesthesia is significantly slowed down. Even if this is so, there is no evidence of the harmfulness of this factor. There is an opinion among specialists that natural childbirth under epidural anesthesia has a risk of ending with a caesarean section due to its slowness.
Other experts believe that these are all delusions. They say that the delay in labor has not been confirmed by official research. On the contrary, there are studies that assert the opposite: there is an acceleration of the generic process. The statement about the risk of passing natural childbirth into surgery is also disputed. Epidural anesthesia is indicated for women at high risk of complications during childbirth. Including, such an indication is the narrowness of the pelvic bones. Of course, in this case, childbirth may end with a forced caesarean section.
Thus, positions on the appropriateness of epidural anesthesia are still very different. It only remains to add that in some cases it is really necessary. Sometimes the physiology of a woman is such that childbirth gives her too much pain. But in many clinics, a woman can receive the drug of her own free will, without medical indications. The legality of such freedom is an open question. There is no authoritative data on the dangers of epidural anesthesia yet.
