Labor Pain Management
It's common to experience some level of pain or discomfort during labor and delivery. The intensity can vary significantly from person to person, and even from birth to birth. The good news is that your pain does not have to be unbearable.
At the Family Birth Center, we offer a range of pain management options to accommodate your health needs and preferences. Our priorities are to honor what's important to you, and most of all — what's safe for you and your baby.
Natural Labor Pain Management Techniques
Our team offers several natural and low intervention pain management options. If it's safe for you and your baby, you may even choose not to take pain medication at all.
Our new natural birthing suites are equipped with built-in warm water immersion therapy (hydrotherapy) tubs. For women who are in active labor, hydrotherapy can offer pain relief and other benefits prior to delivery. The water is kept at a controlled temperature to avoid dehydration.
Particularly recommended for prolonged, obstructed labors with low risk, the advantages of warm water immersion may include:
- Soothing labor pain
- Softening the perineum, which may reduce the chance of episiotomy
- Lowering blood pressure
- Increasing blood circulation, allowing more oxygen in the womb
- Enhancing comfort and flexibility in positioning
- Mental and physical relaxation
Whether you need to rock, squat, bounce or walk, we offer a selection of labor and birth aids to help you move through pain and discomfort. Our midwives can coach you through movement and positioning exercises and apply physical touch to help you cope with contractions and other types of labor pain.
Our midwives offer hands-on support for:
- Counter pressure
- Hip squeeze
- Pelvic presses
We encourage you to choose freely from our services and amenities for comfort and support during labor.
Our midwives can support you through pain management exercises based on focus and distraction techniques, including:
- Breathing
- Relaxation
- Visualization
- Vocalization
Anesthesia for Labor Pain Management
Our anesthesiology experts are available to administer pain medication as needed or requested 24 hours a day, with advanced expertise in epidural labor pain relief.
Our obstetric anesthesiology specialists aim to put you at ease if you choose or need epidural pain relief.
At the Family Birth Center, having an epidural does not mean you lose part of your childbirth experience. With your feedback, our team of specialists can adjust your dosing to ensure that you have adequate pain relief while trying to minimize loss of sensation and still allowing some mobility.
Should you need a cesarean delivery, our anesthesiology team provides compassionate care to maximize family participation in the birth experience. Most patients remain awake through delivery with regional (epidural or spinal) anesthesia for pain relief. Our experts only administer general anesthesia in circumstances when it's the safest option for you or baby.
In most cases, a family member attends cesarean deliveries. When possible, we even encourage immediate baby bonding after C-section, such as skin-to-skin in the operating room and early breastfeeding.
Considering Your Pain Management Options
There are no standard pain management plans at the Family Birth Center. Our team will create a pain management strategy for you based on your health, your baby's health and your preferences.
Questions to consider and discuss with your doctor or midwife when thinking about your pain management options include:
- Which pain management options would be healthiest for my baby and me?
- Would I prefer to avoid or minimize medication during childbirth, if possible?
- Under what circumstances would I choose to take pain medication during labor and delivery?
- Are there certain types of pain management that I'm more or less willing to use?