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Normal birth hurts when it is done without anesthesia, as the woman's body undergoes major changes so that the baby can pass through the birth canal. However, in most cases, it is possible to have epidural anesthesia shortly after the start of contractions, as soon as the woman arrives at the hospital, immediately relieving the pain.
In some women, the epidural, in addition to completely removing the pain, can also change the sensitivity to contractions and, therefore, the doctor can use a device to indicate when the pregnant woman is having a contraction, so that she can push and help the baby to be born.
Here are some questions about anesthesia during childbirth:
1. What anesthesia is given during normal birth?
The anesthesia that is administered to pregnant women during normal childbirth is the epidural, also known as epidural, which is applied to the lumbar region, in the vertebral space, in order to reach the nerves of the region, providing analgesia there and from the waist down.
Learn more about epidural anesthesia.
2. How is anesthesia performed?
Epidural anesthesia is administered with the pregnant woman sitting or lying on her side, with her knees and chin tucked. The anesthetist opens the spaces between the vertebrae of the spine with his hand, and inserts the needle and a thin plastic tube, called a catheter, that passes through the center of the needle, which is where the doctor injects the anesthetic medicine.
3. How do I know that anesthesia is working?
When the anesthesia begins to take effect, the pregnant woman begins to experience progressive loss of sensation, heat, heaviness in her legs and tingling. However, the anesthesiologist will check the level of anesthesia to see if the pregnant woman is ready for delivery.
4. How long does the anesthesia effect last?
The effects of anesthesia can last for one to two hours after the baby is born, which is when the catheter is removed, and the woman may experience numbness in her lower limbs.
5. Does anesthesia have contraindications?
Epidural anesthesia is contraindicated for women with allergies to the anesthetic medication, with spinal prostheses, clotting diseases, taking anticoagulants, having back infections or a low level of platelets in the blood.
In addition, it should also not be administered if the doctor is unable to detect the epidural space, or if the delivery takes place very quickly, which makes anesthesia impossible.
6. Does anesthesia have side effects?
The most common side effect of analgesia is a decrease in blood pressure. In addition, other effects that can occur are low back pain, skin lesions, in the region where the anesthesia was administered, headache, which can appear a few hours after delivery, tremors, nausea and vomiting, itching and urinary retention.
7. Can labor pain be relieved in a natural way?
Although the effectiveness is very different from that obtained with epidural anesthesia, for pregnant women who do not want to use anesthesia during normal childbirth, there are some natural techniques that help to control pain and that include:
- Massages performed by the partner, at the time of delivery, in the interval between contractions;
- Breathe deeply in the moment of greatest pain and force the baby to be born;
- Use techniques such as acupuncture or acupressure to relieve pain;
- Have the freedom to move around during contractions.
See a more complete list of tips for relieving the pain of labor.
In addition, it is very important that the pregnant woman takes all doubts with the obstetrician during the prenatal period so that at the time of delivery, she feels confident in the medical team and knows what will happen, facilitating relaxation.