Pain and Childbirth...

In Chapter four I learned that the pain of childbirth depends largely on the individual. Childbirth pain is a sign that the body as it should be. The pain during childbirth increases anxiety, and the contractions increase their feeling of pain. The decision is up to the mother whether or not to use drugs to reduce the pain. One of the options for controlling the pain is an epidural. There are several types of epidurals. There is the traditional epidural, which numbs from the waist down that inhibits the use of the legs, and in some cases it prevents the mother from pushing. The walking epidural or dual spinal epidural is smaller doses of anesthesia, and allows for the mother to move around more freely. There are also cons associated with the use of pain reducing drugs. Some side-effects that are associated with pain reducing drugs may affect the fetus, and in some cases not affecting the mother. Some of the effects could include, temporarily affected the flow of oxygen to the fetus, fetus is less psychologically responsive, and show poor motor control during the first days of life. Overall, there are no negative side effects associated with the use of drugs during labor as long as they are administered in minimal amounts.