Maintaining a gentle exercise routine throughout your pregnancy can help you better manage labour pains. — Positive Parenting
When it comes to delivery, it’s common for mothers to be worried about the pain and discomfort associated with it.
Rest assured that countless women through the ages have gone through this experience and emerged all the stronger from it.
While it is not my intention to diminish labour pains, there are ways to deal with it.
Effective labour pain management is important as too much pain makes it difficult to bear down properly during labour.
Let’s explore some of the pain-mitigating approaches that are available to expecting mothers.
Mums who prefer not to rely too much on medication find this method useful even during early pregnancy.
However, at its core are two basic prerequisites:
Good physical condition
Labour can be physically tiring, so being in better physical shape helps.
Maintain a gentle exercise routine regularly throughout your pregnancy and avoid strenuous exercises.
The simplest would be to take morning or evening walks. You may also opt for other low impact exercises, e.g. prenatal yoga or Pilates.
Good posture
This helps reduce fatigue and pain in the lower back and neck area.
If you’re not sure what constitutes good posture, ask your gynaecologist for tips on correct standing and sitting postures.
Even when reclining, use small pillows to help support your body and legs where appropriate.
Other alternative methods that can be used to help mitigate labour pains are:
An exercise ball
Also referred to as a stability or physiotherapy ball, it is essentially a large inflatable ball used as an exercise equipment.
It can also be used during pregnancy and right up to delivery to help keep you more comfortable, e.g. first sitting on it, then rocking while leaning forward on the bed, as opposed to reclining on the bed, preferably with the spouse to assist you.
Just like any other exercise equipment, care and precautions should be observed when you are using it.
Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS)
This therapy uses a mild electrical current to stimulate the nerves and muscles.
Its use during pregnancy should be done by a professional as there is a possibility of inducing labour if the electrodes are placed on the wrong acupuncture point (i.e. it will cause contractions).
It can be used on its own or with other pain relief methods.
After delivery, you may want to consider postnatal massage not just for pain relief, but to help the body recover.
These massages are helpful for boosting the recovery process and can be soothing physically, mentally and emotionally – this is especially important if the childbirth was difficult.
Besides non-medical means of pain relief, there are the tried-and-tested medical options which include:
Medical gas
A mixture of nitrous oxide and oxygen is inhaled just as contraction starts.
While it does not stop pain, it helps to downplay the intensity of the contractions.
It also does not interfere with contractions and the gas does not stay in the mum’s or baby’s body after birth.
Injections
Pethidine is a popular choice as it is relatively safe for both the mum and child.
It can be injected into a large muscle such as the buttocks or intravenously via a drip.
However, some women have reported feeling nausea, disorientation, shortness of breath and even lack of pain relief.
Epidurals
This is an effective option that is injected directly into the spinal cord.
While the procedure itself can be painful, once it takes effect, mum will be numb from the waist down.
Some common side effects include nausea, feeling weak-kneed, possible difficulty with vaginal birth (due to numbness), and pain/tenderness at the injection site.
Pregnant mums should feel free to discuss the available options with their doctor.
Each has its own pros and cons, so learn as much as you can and your doctor will help to provide you with the information you need to make an informed choice.
Whether you gave birth naturally, via a Caesarean section, with (or without) the use of medical pain relief, you are still going to become a mum!
At the end of the day, it’s your body so you deserve to make a choice about how you handle your delivery.
Dr H. Krishna Kumar is a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, and past president of the Obstetrical and Gynaecological Society of Malaysia. This article is courtesy of the Malaysian Paediatric Association’s Positive Parenting programme in collaboration with expert partners. For further information, please email starhealth@thestar.com.my. The information provided is for educational and communication purposes only and it should not be construed as personal medical advice. Informa-tion published in this article is not intended to replace, supplant or augment a consultation with a health professional regarding the reader’s own medical care. The Star does not give any warranty on accuracy, completeness, functionality, usefulness or other assurances as to the content appearing in this column. The Star disclaims all responsibility for any losses, damage to property or personal injury suffered directly or indirectly from reliance on such information.
