Epidural anesthesia during labor

Posted by Doctor Dinh Van Loc - Department of General Surgery, Vinmec Da Nang International General Hospital

The epidural technique is when the doctor conducts an injection of anesthetic into the epidural space. The anesthetic effect usually appears after 15 minutes, providing pain relief during natural labor, also known as painless labor.

1. Is epidural anesthesia safe?

Pain during labor is considered to be similar in magnitude to that caused by complex localized pain syndromes. Pain is not life-threatening in healthy women; However, if the right pain relief is not given, it can lead to worse postpartum depression. In addition, labor pain is associated with post-traumatic stress disorder and impaired cognitive function.
Epidural anesthesia can be used to relieve pain during childbirth and is very safe for mother and baby. Your anesthesiologist will discuss the benefits and side effects of epidural analgesia and discuss pain relief options with you as part of your prenatal care. In the United States, regional anesthesia, including an epidural, has been the most widely used method of analgesia in labor since 2000.

Chuyển dạ — Phụ nữ khi chuyển dạ sẽ rất đau đớn

2. Using epidural to relieve pain during labor, does the anesthetic affect contractions?

Most local anesthetics affect only skeletal muscle, not smooth muscle, at usual doses the degree of motor neuron effect depends on the concentration of the local anesthetic. Epidural analgesia for pain relief during labor usually uses local anesthetic with much lower concentration and concentration than epidural anesthesia for surgery. This means that the amplitude or frequency of your contractions is not reduced... You can still feel your contractions happen (but you don't feel any pain), and you can still feel your contractions. push until the cervix is fully dilated and at birth.

Gây tê màng cứng — Gây tê ngoài màng cứng để giảm đau khi chuyển dạ

3. When to start using epidural analgesia during labor?

Epidural anesthesia is often used when labor is in the active stage and the mother requires pain relief. Most women do not require an epidural before 3cm, unless the patient is receiving oxytocin to strengthen uterine contractions.
Recent studies suggest that the use of analgesia before 5cm dilation of the cervix will not affect the subsequent transition. Therefore, the ideal stage to perform an epidural is when the cervix is dilated from 3 to 5 cm.
The epidural technique has now been applied at Vinmec, helping pregnant women experience painless, gentle labor successfully. At Vinmec, there is a team of experienced and professional anesthesiologists who will help pregnant women experience the safest, painless delivery.
To learn more, please call hotlines of hospitals or register for online consultation with Vinmec HERE.

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