Pain relief during labour

Abstract

Obstetricians and anesthetists exert great efforts to make childbirth a pleasurable and pain-free experience. Nowadays, appropriate intrapartum analgesia are not considered a luxurious option but regarded as beneficial and necessary components of proper obstetric care. There are different methods of pain relief during labour: psychological, physical, pharmacological, local, regional and even general anesthesia. There is no single technique of pain relief applicable to every woman, all methods should be available and the decision is arrived at by the patient, obstetrician and the anesthetist considering both fetal & maternal safety