Childbirth, epidural

Finally, therapists may work with patients who are receiving central neural blockade in the form of an epidural or spinal injection. These procedures are common during natural and caesarean childbirth and in some other surgical procedures. Administration of local anesthetics into the spaces around the spinal cord are also used to treat individuals with severe and chronic pain—that is, patients recovering from extensive surgery, patients who have cancer, or patients with other types of intractable pain. In these situations, therapists may notice that an indwelling catheter has been placed in the patient s epidural or subarachnoid space to allow repeated or sustained administration of the spinal anesthesia. 

Capogna G, Camorcia M. Epidural analgesia for childbirth effects of newer techniques on neonatal outcome. Paediatr Drugs. 2004 6 375-386. 

We can t make this to-drug-or-not-to-drug decision for you. We can only suggest you read as much as possible about it before your water breaks. And, again, keep your mind open. Every woman labors differently. You may think you ll have no problem with natural childbirth, but won t be able to take the pain. Or you may have one of those superfast births that don t even give you enough time to think about pain meds (don t we all wish ). Talk to your OB or midwife about their take on pain medications. Find out what is in the particular epidural cocktail your hospital will be using. This is an area of childbirth where both the... 

Fentanyl Sublimaze , Duragesic 0.01-0.1 mg per hour 30-125 times more potent than morphine-, can be given via skin patch also used as an epidural during childbirth... 

Morphine Kadian , MS Contin , Oramorph 10-30 mg every 4 hours More effective when given intravenously than orally-, can also be used as an epidural during childbirth... 

Figure 3.6 During an epidural, a patient is given a strong anesthetic through an injection into the spinal canal. This allows for pain relief in the lower body (below the point of injection), while the upper body remains unaffected, allowing breathing and heart rate to continue as normal. An epidural is often used to ease the pain of childbirth.

Epidural used in childbirth to provide regional pain relief... 

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