Pain Relief for Childbirth

• Other rare side effects include nausea, vomiting, itching and shaking, which usually go away after the drugs wear off
• According to Innes, an epidural may (rarely) affect your chest muscles and cause difficulty breathing, or that sensation, caused by having too high a dose

Spinal Block
What happens: As with an epidural, a spinal is administered by an injection in the lower back. The needle goes through the dura, directly into the spinal canal. Most women feel numb from the waist down, which can affect their ability to push. Spinals are usually given as close to delivery as possible, because they usually wear off after a couple of hours.

Pros:

• Provides almost immediate and complete pain relief from the chest down, with a lower drug dosage than an epidural
• Allows you to remain awake and alert

Cons:

• May decrease blood pressure, which can slow the baby’s heart rate
• Rarely, causes lightheadedness, nausea, or shaking
• Higher risk of spinal headache compared to epidural blocks
• Loss of bladder control (Sometimes there is the temporary need for a bladder catheter.)
• May wear off before baby is born since it’s hard to predict delivery times and doctors don’t like to give more than one spinal block for risk of severe headache

Combined Epidural-Spinal
What happens: An anesthesiologist administers a spinal needle and inserts a micro-catheter in the needle to be able to provide an epidural later, if necessary.

Pros:

• Provides the immediate pain relief of a spinal, plus the continuous medication of an epidural if you need it. You also don’t lose the ability to move

Cons:

• Same side effects as are associated with a spinal and an epidural

Intravenous Narcotics
What happens: medications such as Stadol, Sublimaze, Demerol, and Nubain may be injected, or most likely administered intravenously. In some instances, you may be able to control your dosage by pressing a button that injects a fixed dose of the medication into your IV. The effect usually lasts two to six hours. The best time for them is in early labor to minimize the side effects, including low blood pressure. Typically, doctors do not give narcotics often.