Pharmicological Pain Relief
(Specifically Epidural Anesthesia)

I support women in choosing whatever type of pain relief with which they are most comfortable. However, before the decision is made to use pharmacological pain relief (specifically epidural anesthesia), it is of the utmost importance to understand and be aware of the risks and possible side effects, as well as the benefits.


Here are some very basic tips on making the decision whether or not to have an epidural:
Get the latest information from a wide variety of original sources. Look at the information with a critical eye. Does the author have a political or personal agenda? Is the information balanced and up to date?
Choose a health-care provider whose general philosophy of pregnancy and childbirth closely matches your own. Be wary of those who strongly campaign for or against a particular position.
Make sure you understand your pain relief options, including more natural methods of relief. Talk to your doctor about the different types of epidural currently available, including the walking or "ultralight" epidural.
Keep your options open. You never know what will happen during labor. That way, if your labor is manageable, you won't prematurely request drugs. Nor will you feel deeply disappointed if it turns out that you need medication assistance.
Keep in mind that synthetic augmentation and induction methods will increase the strength and intensity of your contractions, most likely causing you more pain. If you avoid artificial means of encouraging labor, chances are the pain will be more manageable.

Informed Consent Questions

Here is a list of questions to ask when interventions or unplanned procedures are proposed at any point during your pregnancy or the birth of your child:

Is this an emergency or do we have time to talk?
What are the benefits of doing this?
What are the risks of doing this?
If we do this, what other procedures or treatments might we need as a result?
What else can we try first or instead?
What would happen if we waited before doing this?
What would happen if we didn’t do this at all?