Abstract

TO STUDY THE EFFECT OF EPIDURAL ANALGESIA ON DURATION OF LABOUR

Dr. Deepti Shrivastava and Dr. Tejal Vaidya*

Abstract

Labor is an intense and a very painful experience, with almost 30% of mothers finding it much more painful than thought.[1] The pain of labour has been known since history of time. Labour is the most painful experience many women encounter. There is variation in experience for each woman and the different methods are chosen to relieve pain depending on the patient preference and need according to situation. Various non-pharmacological methods of pain relief have been described including transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), hypnosis, acupuncture and training in a variety of relaxation techniques, many request pharmacological method of pain relief. In the early 1960s, the lumbar epidural replaced caudal analgesia as the preferred technique. In 1967 Beazley et al.[2] published a classic study of the efficacy of different forms of analgesia in labour. Since then epidural analgesia has been widely introduced for pain relief in labour even for routine practice.[3] The use of lumbar epidural catheters in the 1970s permitted administration of pain relief early in labour, rather than only at the time of delivery. Several improvements in epidural analgesia occurred in the 1970s and 1980s.[1] The use of epidural analgesia in the United States has tripled between 1981 and 2001, with 60% of parturient using this technique currently in large hospitals.[4] About a fifth parturient women in England and Wales received epidural analgesia.[5]

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