When Given Control, Women Use Less Epidural Anesthesia During Delivery

[HuckleB]

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/womens-health/articles/2011/02/10/when-given-control-women-use-less-epidural-anesthesia-during-delivery

"If women are given control of the amount of epidural anesthesia
they get during labor and delivery, they use about 30 percent less medication than when given a standard dose from a doctor
, a new study shows.
Click here to find out more!

"We looked at patient-controlled epidural anesthesia, and found the women were basically as comfortable as women on a continuous dose, and there was a 30 percent reduction in the amount of anesthesia used," said study author Dr. Michael Haydon, a perinatologist at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center in California.

Haydon is scheduled to present the findings Thursday at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine annual meeting in San Francisco. Research presented at meetings is generally preliminary, experts note, since it has not been subjected to the same rigorous scrutiny as research published in peer-reviewed medical journals.

Epidural anesthesia is a common form of localized pain relief used during childbirth, according to the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. A small catheter is inserted into the epidural space in the spine by an anesthesiologist, and a painkiller is then given to numb the area.

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Seems like positive news, all the way around.

:hi:

[xchrom]

1. recommend

[HuckleB]

2. Kick.

[HockeyMom]

3. I had an epidural for my breech delivery

32 years ago. I had both a very good OB/GYN and anesthesiologist. My doctor told him to give me only enough to take edge off the pain, but not enough so I couldn't still feel the contractions and push. I had to push a whole lot with the breech birth.

Odds of this happening today, are probably about nil.