A few questions you must want to know about painless childbirth:
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1. Can everyone use painlessly? Is there anyone who can't give birth without pain?
Painless childbirth is widely available, and after the exclusion of contraindications, it is suitable for women who can have a vaginal birth and are willing to use painless delivery.
Evaluated by an obstetrician and anesthesiologist before antenatum, it can be considered if the benefits of intraspinal analgesia outweigh the risks.
Contraindications to painless childbirth are few, but not all.
Painless childbirth is not recommended in any of the following six conditions [8]:
Coagulation dysfunction;
Skin infection at the site of lumbar puncture;
Lumbar deformities;
Increased intracranial pressure;
Heart disease;
mental illness.
There are two situations in which a painless childbirth should never be given [8]:
Hypersensitivity to anesthetic drugs for spinal canal analgesia;
Women with co-existing gestational diabetes mellitus and uncontrolled blood sugar.
2. Is a painless delivery really completely painless?
No.
"Completely painless" is an ideal state, and it is difficult to do so at present.
First of all, painless delivery is not anesthesia at the beginning, and the analgesia of childbirth in most hospitals in China is an interspinal block when the uterine opening is opened to 2 to 3 cm, so there will still be a short period of time to feel pain.
Second, everyone's response to anesthetic drugs and their feelings about pain are different, and there is no guarantee that every woman will feel "painless."
However, painless childbirth can indeed greatly reduce maternal pain, allowing women to retain enough physical strength in the first stage of labor (from the beginning of regular uterine contractions to the opening of the uterine opening), so as to better complete the delivery.
3. Is there a risk of painless childbirth? Will there be "sequelae"?
Painless delivery is anaesthesia with spinal canal and may produce complications and side effects associated with anesthesia.
Specific complications include postdural puncture headache, epidural hematomas and abscesses, meningitis, and systemic toxicity of local anesthetics.
Possible side effects include hypotension, itching, nausea and vomiting, urinary retention, fever, etc.
However, the probability of these adverse reactions and side effects is very small, and most of the situations can be controlled.
As long as you choose a hospital with perfect equipment and qualifications that can deliver painlessly, and maintain communication with doctors during the process, you basically don't need to worry too much.
4. Will a painless delivery prolong the labour?
Data have shown that analgesic analgesic delivery in analgesic delivery slightly prolongs the second stage of labour [9].
Painless childbirth does not change contractions, but also improves the woman's emotional and psychological state. For some women, a painless delivery can shorten the length of labor. There are even some data that show that painless childbirth can help shorten the course of labour [10].
Therefore, there is no need to worry too much about the impact of painless delivery on the course of labour.
At present, the proportion of painless births in the mainland as a whole is not high. In other words, there are still many pregnant mothers who will also endure the pain of childbirth.
Perhaps, this is because no one tells them that you actually have a better choice.
The greatness of maternal love, there is no need to prove it with pain!
Reviewer
Sun Hong | Deputy Chief Physician of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University
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