The Effects Of Analgesia On Pregnant Women Cause Prolonged Labor Time

Four years later, I got pregnant. I was nervous, scared and anxious. The doctor I saw said that I could have a VBAC(vaginal birth after c-section). I raided the library and read books on that subject. It was then I found out that the United States had the highest incidence of C-sections in the world. Research shows that epidurals increase the use of other interventions that themselves carry risks. These interventions include electronic fetal monitoring (which has shown to increase the likelihood of a cesarean without improving outcome), I. V oxytocin, and instrumental delivery. Epidurals also deprive women of a sense of mastery over labor. Goer, Henci. "Epidurals Myth Vs Reality." Childbirth Instructor Magazine Winter 1995: 17-22

The practice of patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) has been around for approximately four decades now. During this time there have been improvements to the technology and the understanding of how to use this form of patient pain control; however, there continues to be concern related to the safety and efficacy of PCA. As this analysis proceeds it will briefly explain what PCA is and how it is used, then delve into the benefits and the safety issues surrounding PCA use as it pertains to the patient and the nurse. Some of the benefits of PCA include improved pain management, improved use of nursing resources, increased patient satisfaction, and reduced pulmonary issues (Hicks, Sikirica, Nelson, Schein & Cousins, 2008). Some of the safety

Giving birth should be a beautiful experience even though delivery can be terrifying and discomfort. Even though women have the decision to choose between having a natural childbirth or get an epidural majority of women give birth at a hospital get an epidural. Make sure when you base your decision on what’s best for your infant and not base off anyone influencing you. What constitutes a “Natural childbirth”? A natural childbirth is when a woman gives birth without any medication. You can choose between having a mid-wife and having an at home birth or you can give birth at the hospital without any medication either way is consider giving natural childbirth. According to Kristeen, an epidural is drugs called local anesthetics, such as bupivacaine, chloroprocaine, or liocaine it numbs the abdomen or pelvic region during labor. An epidural is given when the women is about 4 or 5 centimeters dilated (Cherney, par.2-6). In order to get an epidural you have to get a shot in your spine (lower back). In 1909, the first caudal anaesthesia was given for labor pains by a German obstetrical, Walter Stoeckel, and he study 141 cases of healthy laboring women with epidurals. In 1931, the first catheter was used in an epidural. By the 1940s, epidural were being used sporadically for labor but did not gain true momentum until the 1970s. This was in large part due to the fact that other

Randomization was used to generate what patient went to which group. The way the patients were chosen eliminated bias because “Randomization was performed according to a computer-generated list by means of sequentially numbered, opaque, sealed envelopes which revealed the allocation of the subject to either induction or expectant management”(Nielsen et al. p. 60). This secure randomization added a great strength to the study. The sample size seemed fairly large, 226 patients were split into 116 for elective induction and 110 to expectant management, although the power analysis was disclosed in this study and determined that 600 patients were required. Only 226 patients were used and because it would take 4 years to reach the required amount of patients, the study was discontinued. This was both a strength and weakness because disclosing this information made the study more honest but the quota needed to reach the best answers was not attained. The study for the 226 patients was pretty standard with the 80% power and alpha at 0.05. T-test and chi square tests were used to compare the proportions between the groups of people. The women were chosen based on the inclusion criteria of being 39 weeks gestation or older, maternal age of more than 17, fetal cephalic presentation, singleton gestation, a candidate for vaginal delivery, and a Bishop score of 5 or greater in nulliparous women and 4 or greater for multiparous women. This inclusion criterion was a concern because both nulliparous women and multiparous women were being tested together. This was a weakness because the labor patterns of a nulliparous woman compared to a multiparous woman are very variable and sure to distort study data. It was also disclosed how gestational age was achieved which included the crown rump test measured in 6-12

In the past, in the United States the majority of women delivered at home with no anesthetics; women might have received assistance through a family doctor, including midwife care (Thomas, 2011). A radical change happened by the 1960s, when hospital childbirths had become the norm, the pain of the experience was reduced by epidural anesthesia controlled by a physician. Pregnant women received education on breastfeeding and other topics during their medical visits (Thomas, 2011).

According to the American Pregnancy organization “more than 50% of woman giving birth at hospitals use Epidural Anesthesia”. These women turn to epidural to relieve the pain of labor; however this decision poses many risks to both mother and child. An epidural is a type of regional anesthesia where pain medication is administered to the lumbar and sacral region of the back near clusters of nerves. The placement allows for nerve impulses to be blocked from the lower regions of the body resulting in decreased sensations. Although the epidural is known for taking pain away it could very well cause it too. Epidurals include the use of various narcotics and have side effects like hypotension, fever, fetal malposition, decreased fetal heart rate, respiratory depression, breastfeeding complications, an increased likelihood of operative vaginal delivery and cesarean and many more. These are the effects faced in result to a procedure that is not definite to work. In Fact “One in every 8 women” (OAA) will experience inadequate pain relief and must venture to other means of medication. Therefore, mothers should abstain from epidural anesthesia due to the risks it poses to themselves and to the fetus.

Thanks for sharing your story. I know that epidural has become increasingly common for childbirth and has been an ideal tool for many doctors to offer patients with relief from the pains of labor and delivery; however, I was disappointed to those doctors or nurses who kept questioning you about this option although you did not want it at first. Your experience truly shows how physicians gave over medical control to this procedure rather than view it as a part of natural birth; but yet I guess it really depends on the nature of the cases, every woman and every labor are different. Probably, if I were in your situation, I would do the same thing too, especially if the baby had a fever and still inside of me, as a mother, like you, I would definitely

An argument for the case of minimal medicalized intervention during birth can be made in terms of low-risk pregnancies and reserving medical interventions for high-risk deliveries and emergency situations. The purpose of this paper is to ensure that members of the childbearing community, including healthcare professionals, are familiar with alternative interventions to cesarean section and thoroughly consider the risks and benefits of said interventions so that natural child-birthing methods can be promoted in low-risk situations.

I picked this article because I am curious on what the side effects of an epidural are because of I’ve always known about the pros of Epidurals and how it is a successful pain reliever. An epidural makes the person so numb that it's hard to contract and push adequately and this makes the labor longer. With the labor process increasing it leads to cesarean which has more side effects and the recovering time longer than natural birth which impacts the mother and baby bond for the first couple days. a study that was done with women babies for the first time during the second phase stage of labor was much longer coming at 336 minutes with an epidural. Women that choose natural birth had 197 minutes of labor this was a difference of 2 hours and

These nonpharmacologic comfort measures work by providing distraction during uterine contraction. “According to the gate control theory of pain, only a limited number of sensations can travel along neural pathways at any one time, so when activities fill the pathway, pain is being inhibited”. (Leifer, 2012)

Childbirth is a beautiful thing. After the hours of labor, there is nothing more special than having the newly mother able to hold her child the minute after it’s born. It makes the pain that you had just experienced go away because all that matters in the world is that newborn child in your arms. During labor, every woman has her own experience but one common experience is the pain. According to Kitzinger (1978) “Labor pain can have negative or positive meaning, depending on whether the child is wanted, the interaction of the laboring woman with those attending her, her sense of ease or dis-ease in the environment provided for birth, her relationship with the father of her child and her attitude to her body throughout the reproductive

A big question when for a pregnant woman is epidural or no epidural. There are many reasons that go into that decision but one of the biggest is pain. However, there is another option that is seemingly underutilized in the United States, nitrous oxide. According to Plenda (2014), between 50-60% of women in Finland, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom have been using nitrous oxide as analgesia during labor for generations, yet only 1% of the hospitals in the United State give it as an option. Nitrous oxide should be further investigated and possibly implemented as another option for American women in the labor and delivery setting.

Pregnancy and childbirth are a part of nature. Delivering a child can be a beautiful experience. However, delivery can also be very painful and can last for days.

Central Idea: Pain management is an important aspect of childbirth that women need to educate themselves on so they can make an informed decision when choosing which method they will use.

Childbirth can be described as one of the most rewarding and also painful experiences in a woman’s life. Most women choose some type of method to ease pain, however, there has been a lot of controversy over with pain management method is the most effective. According to the CDC (Center for Disease Control), In 2013, there were 3,932,181 births recorded in the United States, 32.7% of those births were surgical procedures. In 2012, 1.36% of recorded births occurred out-of-hospital, meaning these births took place mostly in homes or birthing centers. Without the option of medicine that a hospital provides, how were these women able to manage their pain during labor and delivery. There are many different methods for easing pain during childbirth, some methods involve the use of medicine and surgery, and others include natural techniques, such as hypnosis, Lamaze, and many others. It is a personal preference of the parents over which method is right for the needs of the mother and child. This can be an overwhelming decision for new parents to make because they have to take into consideration the safety of the mother and child, pain management for the mother and desire for medical involvement.