Women in labor can control their own epidurals
November 25, 2008 by Marijke Durning, RN
Filed under Women's Health
Up to now, the only control women had over epidurals while in labor was to say "yes" or "no" to "do you want an epidural?" This is changing in some places though.
In the United Kingdom, one hospital began a patient-controlled epidural system. The epidural is inserted as usual, but the woman has the ability to press a button for pain relief. For those who worry that women may get too much medication, there is a 15-minute lock out so even if the button is pressed before 15 minutes has passed, the medication won’t be delivered.
What’s nice about this is that it gives back a bit of control of the birthing process, which has become overly medicalized despite the fact that giving birth isn’t an illness.
You can read more about the UK program here in the article Mothers In Labour Now Have Control Of Their Own Epidurals, St. Michael’s Hospital, Bristol, England.
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Tags: pregnancy blog, epidurals, labor, labour
