Labour pain management

At the CK Birla Hospital, your safety and comfort are our foremost concerns. Our care team offers a wide range of natural and medicinal pain relief methods to ease your labour. We are the only hospital in North India to provide piped Entonox service for labour pain management. We are also the only hospital to offer water birthing which is considered the most natural pain-relieving technique. We offer 24×7 epidural services through a collaborative approach between obstetricians and our specialised anaesthetists. We partner with you to make your pregnancy journey, labour and childbirth a smooth and memorable experience.

Labour pain is the pain you feel when your cervix dilates (opens) and effaces (becomes thin) to allow your fetus to enter the birth canal. Labour pain can be simply put as a series of contractions of the uterus. Every woman experiences labour pain at a unique time. However, labour usually begins one or two weeks before your due date. 

There are some common signs of labour pains, which include backache, contractions or tightenings, water rupture, increased urge to go to the bathroom and a small amount of blood and mucus from your cervix. 

Labour pain or labour is categorised into three different stages. Labour pain stages include:

The first stage of labour – The first stage of labour is when your cervix starts to dilate. During this stage, you will experience mild and irregular contractions. This stage is further divided into two phases – the latent and the active phase. After an interval of nearly 20 minutes or more, your contractions will become stronger as your cervix completely dilates. Your contractions will be more frequent,  intense and lengthier. 

The second stage of labour – This stage is also known as the pushing stage of labour. Your cervix is now completely open and ready to push the baby through the birth canal. The second stage ends with the delivery of your baby. 

The third stage of labour – The third stage involves the delivery and passage of the placenta out of your uterus.

Labour pain management is mostly of two types – natural and medical. 

Self-help methods

Self-help methods would include the various relaxation and breathing techniques you learn from your counsellor and obstetrician during your pregnancy. This includes the use of natural ways such as Lamaze, yoga, hypnosis, hypnotherapy, distractions, visual imagery and rhythmic and deep breathing. You can experiment with various positions to help you gain more control over your labour and relieve pain. 

Piped Entonox 

Entonox is a ready-to-use medical gas. It is a mixture of nitrous oxide and oxygen. Entonox is a safe pain relief method offered to women in labour in order to reduce the severity of pain. It is offered through a breathing mask and causes no side effects to you and your baby. 

Epidural 

Epidural is a type of anaesthesia. It numbs those nerves which carry the pain impulses from the birth canal to the brain. It is a safe method that offers complete labour pain relief. Epidural has minor side-effects that include heaviness in the legs and a drop in blood pressure. 

Water birthing 

Water birthing is the most natural form of pain relief for women in labour. The buoyancy of warm water offers greater control, space, relaxation and alleviation of pain relief to women. Some women choose to stay underwater during labour and come out on the surface for birth, while others choose to deliver their baby in the water itself. 

TENS 

TENS stands for transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation. Through TENS machines, your body stimulates and produces natural painkillers called endorphins. Additionally, the TENS method also reduce the number of pain signals that your spinal cord sends to your brain during labour.