As you approach your due date, both you and your doctor can discuss the ways in which to control pain during your labor. First, it is important to realize that labor is a natural process that allows you to deliver a baby. Understanding what your options are is the first step in managing it. There are things that you can do as well as your doctor can do to help with pain during your labor.

Remember this is your delivery. Here are some suggestions for you to consider:

• Be involved!
• Be prepared and attend birthing classes! They are informative, and they teach ways of breathing as well as different positions in which to labor.
• Visit the maternity floor before you go into labor.
• Discuss your concerns with your doctor & have your questions answered.
• Have your favorite soft music playing.
• Bring a few of your favorite things from home.
• Have supportive people at your labor.
• The advantage to these methods is that they require no medication that may affect you or your baby.

However, there are women who may need a little extra help to manage their pain – that is with medicine. Doctors must prescribe these based on your progress in labor. Typically, medications are given by different methods – as an injection in a muscle, through an IV, or through an epidural. With the epidural, a small catheter is placed in your back so that medicine can be given through it. You will then be "numb" from the belly button down.

Further Instructions