Women in labour tend to use less anesthesia when allowed to control their own dosage during labour, finds a new study presented at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine annual meeting in San Francisco on Thursday (February 10).
Epidural anesthesia is one of the most common forms of pain relief during labour. Medication is delivered through a catheter in the epidural space of the spine. Usually, the amount and flow of anesthesia is determined by an anesthesiologist.
Researchers at the Long Beach Memorial Medical Center in California worked with 270 first-time mothers. The volunteers were divided into three groups: one group was given the standard continuous dose of epidural anesthesia, the second group was given a continuous dose with an added patient-controlled option, while the final group was given pain medication only when they pressed a button to receive it.
The first group used an average of 74.9 mg of anesthesia, while the second group used an average of 95.9 mg. Patients in the third group, however, used significantly less, averaging only 52.8 mg of medication during labour.
Women in the third group did report slightly higher pain scores, especially when having to push during labour, but responded that they were satisfied with their pain management overall.
"We’d like to move toward more individualized pain care for labour, possibly using an automated delivery system in response to patient needs. This study shows that using less anesthesia seems to be possible with this delivery system," said Dr. Michael Haydon, lead presenter of the study.