Pain Control in Mom’s Hands

Pregnant women who can control their own pain drugs (anesthetic) during delivery use 30% less medication but have similar levels of satisfaction, a study finds. Nearly 300 women were placed into one of three groups. Group 1 used a standard epidural. This delivers continuous pain medication. Group 2 used the same method, but could also add more pain medicine at the push of a button. Group 3 was in total control of how much pain medicine was used. The women who had total control used 30% less medication than women in Group 1, and 44% less anesthetic than Group 2. But even though Group 3 received less pain medication, the length of their labor, frequency of cesarean sections, the urge to push and the mother’s satisfaction scores were similar across all three groups. The study will be presented February 10 at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine’s annual meeting.