Pain relief with and without medication: what are your options? What are the advantages and disadvantages?

During pregnancy, you must prepare for the birth together with us. Good information about labor and the pain experience is vital for a satisfactory delivery. A pregnancy course can certainly help with this.

Every delivery hurts, but women's pain perception differences are significant. The pain in the lower abdomen (and sometimes back and legs) is caused by the contraction of the uterus (contractions) during the dilation phase. There is often a painless rest period between contractions. As dilation progresses, the contractions last longer, and the breaks become shorter. The moment when you can start pushing is approaching. Pushing along reduces the pain or even makes the pain disappear completely. Later during the pressing, the stretching of the tissue becomes painful.

We will make sure that the delivery does not take too long. You should not become exhausted because then you will no longer be able to cope with the contractions properly.

Pain relief without medication
During the dilation contractions, it helps to regularly change your position. Taking a bath or shower also promotes progress, increases comfort, and reduces the need for pain relief with medication. It is nice if someone can support you continuously, this can be your partner, but we can also ask the maternity nurse to come if necessary. At home, you have good opportunities to influence pain perception. We will guide you in this. Research shows that women often experience less pain at home.

Pain relief with medication
The carrying capacity is not (any longer) sufficient to tolerate the pain, and medicinal pain relief is required. In that case, we will look together with you at what options we have for you. The following resources are available in the hospitals we work with;

Pethidine
This is a drug that is administered through an injection in your leg. The effect is that you become somewhat sleepy, and the sharp edges of the pain are taken off. After a consultation with a gynecologist, we can guide the delivery further. The remedy works for about 4 hours.

Epidural (epidural)
In this method, an anesthetic is continuously administered around the exiting nerves of the spinal cord. The pain is virtually eliminated and works throughout the entire dilation period. You keep feeling in your legs. If you need an epidural, the care will be transferred to the gynecologist, and the anesthetist (available 24 hours a day) will come to place the epidural.

Nitrous oxide
In the Ikazia hospital, you can use nitrous oxide during the last phase of childbirth. You administer this gas to yourself through a cap, taking the edge off the contractions. We are trained in practice to be allowed to distribute this product. No referral to the gynecologist is required.

There are advantages and disadvantages to medicinal pain relief.