Anesthesia during childbirth: types, pros and cons, reviews

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

We are constantly threatened with childbirth, referring to the hellish and intolerable pain experienced by a woman. That is why there is nothing strange and surprising in the fact that the expectant mother, preparing for the birth of her baby, begins to panic, ask herself a lot of questions. Can I bear this pain? Do they give anesthesia during childbirth? How safe is it for the unborn baby? In any case, the final decision is up to the doctor. It is he who, starting from the pain defect of a woman, individual characteristics and the course of pregnancy, will be able to give his permission. Another thing is if you are going to give birth in a private clinic and have prescribed anesthesia as the main clause of the contract. Let's take a closer look at the appropriateness of anesthesia during childbirth, its safety and possible consequences.

The essence of pain relief

Childbirth is a stress for a woman and her body, it is something new and unknown, causing a feeling of fear. That is why it is necessary to prepare for them in advance. Anesthesia during childbirth is an important process that largely determines their course. Reducing pain helps to alleviate the condition of the woman in labor during natural delivery, as well as caesarean section. But here's the difficulty - anesthesia canadversely affect the he alth of women and children. That is why, before deciding on it, you need to carefully weigh everything.

Anesthesia for vaginal delivery

All doctors are unanimous in their opinion that the female body has everything that is necessary for the birth of a baby. That is why they so insist on natural delivery, of course, in the absence of clear indications for a caesarean section. In this case, most often assigned:

• intravenous anesthesia - the introduction of the drug into a vein provides a short-term sleep of the woman in labor at the most painful time;
• spinal and epidural anesthesia eliminates pain during labor and cervical dilatation, the drug in this case is injected with a thin needle into the dorsal region, which is reflected in the name;
• local anesthesia is used for painless stitching of tears, injected into the damaged area.

As you can see, there are enough options, each has its own purpose and characteristics.

Anesthesia for caesarean section

Unfortunately, according to certain medical indicators, a woman can not always give birth to a strong and he althy baby on her own, in this case, specialists prescribe a planned caesarean section, which involves abdominal surgery. And here it is definitely not possible to do without anesthesia. In this situation, the following types of anesthesia may be used:

• general anesthesia - a complete shutdown of the consciousness of the woman in labor, carried out bydrug administration through a venous catheter;
• spinal anesthesia - the introduction of drugs into the subarachnoid space between the spinal cord and the arachnoid;
• epidural anesthesia - the introduction of the drug over the hard shell of the spinal cord - into the epidural space.

So, we have considered the main types of anesthesia during childbirth, methods of drug administration. It remains to understand when each of them is appropriate, what contraindications it has.

Intravenous anesthesia: advantages and disadvantages

Many experts agree that often due to banal inexperience, women cannot overcome pain during contractions. Moreover, panic attacks and worries can only increase them. So, intravenous anesthesia during childbirth, reviews of which we will definitely give a little lower, is the ability to relieve pain during labor, as well as an effective remedy for relaxation, relieving spasms of the expectant mother. The anesthesiologist, only after the examination, introduces one of the analgesics with a narcotic effect or its combination with a sedative drug, say, Diazepam.

The duration of anesthesia varies with the amount of drug administered and can range from ten to seventy minutes. Among the obvious advantages of this method of anesthesia is the short duration of negative consequences. But for the elimination of pain between contractions, you will have to pay too high a price: narcotic drugs somehow enter the child’s bloodstream, thereforecan cause disturbances in the work of an unformed nervous system. Many women in labor who used intravenous anesthesia, of course, felt relieved, their attempts were less painful, but some women still noticed the manifestation of negative consequences: the babies were restless, capricious.

Moreover, the anesthesiologist should approach the choice of the drug more carefully, because it can cause the development of pathologies. Many of those who took advantage of anesthesia soon regretted it. How does anesthesia work? The woman in labor is half asleep, so she does not feel all the pain from contractions. But this is precisely the complexity of this situation: in this state, it is quite difficult to control contractions, it is almost impossible to push, which can adversely affect labor activity.

Local anesthesia

Not only during childbirth do anesthesia. When it is necessary to anesthetize a small area of the body of a woman in labor, for example, to sew up the rupture site, local anesthesia is used. Its task is to dull the sensitivity of cells without turning off consciousness. The effect of such pain relief is similar to what you feel in the dentist's office. Anesthesia after childbirth is most often prescribed to repair tears. In this case, the injections are injected into the perineum, that is, the place where it is necessary to relieve pain. The harm from local anesthesia is minimal, it naturally does not cause any harm to the fetus. But again, the doctor should be more careful in choosing the drug, since, judging by the reviews, quite often the injectioncauses a sharp increase in blood pressure, as a result of which the woman in labor may even lose consciousness. Of the side effects, some women note an allergic reaction, inflammation in the perineum, as well as chills, fever.

Contraindications

It is strictly forbidden to resort to local anesthesia in the following cases:

• Infection at the puncture site.
• The presence of diseases of the central nervous system in a woman in labor.
• Scars on the uterus.
• Low blood pressure.
• Allergy to pain medication.
• A bleeding disorder.

All About Epidurals

Every pregnant woman studies the process of pregnancy, labor, one way or another capturing the topic of anesthesia. Epidural anesthesia is one of the most controversial topics today. At the same time, this method of pain relief is the most popular.

What is the procedure? The introduction of the drug into the spinal canal, located between the spinal discs. With a special disposable very thin needle, the required amount of the substance is injected, sometimes an additional dose. This is a salvation for women in labor with myopia, diseases of the cardiovascular system, kidneys.

Benefits

Perhaps the main advantage of this method is the possibility of extension as needed using a special catheter inserted into the spine. The likelihood of a drop in blood pressurein this case is reduced to a minimum. Indeed, today it is the most effective method of anesthesia. According to reviews, the drug begins to act gradually, while affecting only the source of pain. A woman in labor can control her condition, contractions, she will give birth to a baby. The harm to the he alth of the child in this case is also minimal.

Flaws

But there are quite a few downsides. What are the consequences of anesthesia during childbirth? Many women complain of migraines, frequent headaches, weakness, which do not go away for several months. Moreover, the puncture site hurts a lot, it worries, does not allow to lead a normal life.

Inhalation pain relief

Anesthesia during childbirth is a very interesting topic, not only for expectant mothers, but also for doctors. That is why it is not surprising that modern specialists are not going to stop there, offering advanced methods of getting rid of pain. We must also mention this option for the objectivity of the review.

Inhalation anesthesia - the latest technique, which involves getting rid of pain by inhaling a drug in a gaseous state by a woman in labor. For the procedure, methoxyflurane, halothane and pentran are most often used. The mask for inhalation visually resembles an ordinary respirator.

This method is relevant in the first part of pregnancy, when the cervix has opened 4-5 cm. ImportantThe advantage of this method is that the woman herself, as the pain approaches, can put on a mask and relieve symptoms, independently controlling the frequency of pain relief. Those who have already resorted to inhalation anesthesia focus on the ease of implementation and the absence of many consequences, as with the previous options. The drug is quickly eliminated from the woman's body, she feels great, the effect on the child in this case is minimal, while the effect is really powerful.

Of the side effects, only dizziness and nausea are observed, which will disappear after a few hours.

Summing up

Thus, there are many arguments for and against anesthesia during childbirth. Many women in labor claim that they themselves would never have decided to introduce a drug into their body, if not for the persistent advice of a doctor. Others, on the contrary, already from the first trimester of pregnancy tuned in to epidural anesthesia, which they later did not regret. However, there are those who have experienced negative consequences.

Another thing is important: any anesthesia requires the involvement of a qualified specialist. Only a doctor, based on the results of the examination, can prescribe a truly effective and relatively safe medication. Only in this case it will be possible to minimize the negative consequences. Of course, if possible, it is best to avoid anything that could harm you and your baby. Anesthesia during childbirth is a last resort, expedient incase with a low pain threshold and certain medical conditions.