The last time I sat down and started writing about Pain medication options in labor it ended up being 3+ pages about epidurals. So, here’s another post about the other options that are available.
One option is IV pain management. What does this mean? This means that if you choose this option, you’ll have an IV and the medication is pushed through the IV. This is not a continuous thing like an epidural. The medication is pushed through with a syringe over 1-2 minutes.
The pain medication that is most commonly used is fentanyl, which is an opioid. I know what you’re thinking.
· Fentanyl? Isn’t that what Prince died from of an overdose?
· Opioids? Isn’t there an opioid epidemic? Why would they give laboring mothers something that’s addicting and toxic to her and her baby?
Actually, it’s not as scary and dramatic as you think. This plan of pain management is only given once or maybe a few times during the course of labor. The mother and her baby are monitored very closely. Which means, being hooked up to baby monitors on the belly and a pulse oximeter on the finger to monitor your heart rate and oxygen level.
The IV pain medication is best used when the mother is very tired from laboring for a long time. The medication gives her a chance to rest and take a break. The medication doesn’t take away the pain completely, but it helps a lot and she’s is usually able to relax and maybe even take a nap. There are of course cons to this method. Possible side effects of this include nausea, vomiting, feeling drowsy, and it can affect your baby’s breathing and heart rate. This is why we monitor baby and it’s also why we don’t give this option to moms who are close to delivery. Giving it too close to delivery can affect the baby more after birth because the baby isn’t getting the help from mom on the inside to recover and cope with the medication. Another con is that with each time it’s given it loses its effectiveness.
Every mom, labor and situation is different. Some of these things sound scary, but it’s not right for everyone. For some, it’s a life saver because all they needed was just some short relief and rest to power through the rest of the mountain.
The third pain relief option is called nitrous oxide or more commonly known as laughing gas. This is the same drug given to you at the dentist that you breathe in, however it’s given in a decreased concentration during labor and it’s mixed with oxygen. It hasn’t been really used in the United States until a few years ago when it started to become popular. It has been used in a lot of other countries for many years though. How it’s used is you breathe in and out through a face mask or a breathing tube during contractions. The mom is the one holding it up to her face, so she is in control. She can use it or not at her discretion.
I used nitrous in my second birth and I liked it. The best way I can describe it is that it doesn’t take away the pain, but it helps you to cope with the pain. Possible side effects of nitrous are nausea and feeling light headed.
There are a lot of pros to using nitrous oxide. If you decide you don’t like it or it’s not helping you, it doesn’t stay in your system for very long, only a few minutes. Since it doesn’t stay in your body for very long and it doesn’t have a chance to affect your whole body, meaning it doesn’t affect your baby. Since it doesn’t really affect your baby, this means no monitoring of the baby. This also means that you are able to move around more freely and aren’t hooked up to anything. Hallelujah!
In my own experience with nitrous, I started using it when I was 6cm, although I would have taken it sooner if we had gotten there faster. (Thanks a lot Steve!) (jk, love you) After using it for a while and I was transitioning to the end, it wasn’t helping me anymore and I opted for the epidural when I got to 8cm.
FYI to dads and other partners at the bedside, don’t try to take a hit. That’s not cool! You need to be there for her, and she doesn’t have time for you be playing with drugs. Plus, if we find out, you might be asked to leave and given an evil stare.
So, you can switch from one pain option to another, but will have to wait for some lag time between them and you can’t use more than one at the same time.
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