How to manage labour pain?
Gone are the days when women had to fear about their pain during baby deliveries. With advancements in various aspects of technology, life has bestowed mothers the chance of experiencing a painless baby delivery. Every pregnant mother along with the happiness of welcoming their little one to this world, also experience nightmares on how to tolerate the pain of labour.
Why is labour so painful?
Mothers during labour experience pain in various parts of the body at different intensities. Major pain occurs due to the contractions in the uterus which results pressure in the cervix. Strong cramps occur in the regions of the abdomen, groin, and back, also in the thigh regions. There is an expansion of the pelvis and the baby’s head exerts pressure on the bladder and bowels causing more pain during labour.
Increased anxiety and confusion in mothers are also factors that add to the complication in labour. Hence, it is very important for pregnant women to feel peaceful, especially during the last stage of delivery.
Generic Approaches in Dealing Labour Pain
When it comes to labour pain management, the most important point couples worry about revolves around the safety of the child and the mother. While the most common methods currently known to common people are either the C-Section (Cesarean) procedures or the usage of epidural analgesia (injections).
The C-Section (Cesarean) is the most commonly opted method in the majority of hospitals in India when it comes to labour pain management. C-section is a technique that allows mother to undergo a procedure where the baby is taken through an incision in the lower abdominal area.
While C-Section remains well recognized as the most preferred method for painless delivery, it appears to have many side-effects bothering mothers even long after their deliveries. The most known side effects include lower back pain, delayed recovery period, and increased chance for a C-Section in the next delivery.
The usage of other pain medications or epidural analgesia does provide a pain-free delivery but also results in various side effects in the mothers during their postpartum phase. Side effects that occur while using epidurals during labour include headache, low blood pressure, insomnia, and chronic pain at the injection site.
Although usage of TENS machines is not very common in countries like India, this is now becoming the most adapted method in many European and other western countries where patient safety is considered to be the key factor.
Drug-free Labour Pain Reduction Technique
ELLE TENS, from Bodyclock UK, is an award-winning maternity TENS device that has helped more than 1,000,000 mothers around the world to deliver painlessly.
It is a simple to use, safe and side-effect-free remedy to fight labour pain with a unique technology developed to handle extreme contraction pains with a single click of a button. It has two modes such as the Burst mode and the Boost mode. Mothers can switch between the “Burst” mode and the “Boost” mode within a fraction of second thereby fighting the continuous body pains and the contraction pain respectively. Every pain signal travels from nerve endings to the spinal cord and from the spine, the message of pain sensation is passed to the thalamus of the brain by transmission.
The brain after sensing pain, starts producing natural pain-relieving hormones such as the endorphins and encephalins. When the pain-relieving hormones and the message of pain sensation from the brain are passed back through the spinal cord to reach the site of pain initiation, electric pulses from ELLE TENS mask the pain signals at the dorsal horn of the spinal cord and allows only the pain reliving hormones to reach the site of pain origin, thus helping in effective pain-relief management.
This device is self-operated by the mother, easy to clip on, and is hustle-free during labour.The most interesting part of ELLE TENS is that it not only reduces labour pain intensity, but it also induces natural labour. Electric pulses from ELLE TENS helps the brain secrete feel-good hormones in mothers undergoing labour, which in turn results in easy vaginal dilation, inducing natural delivery.
Remember, that the experience of giving birth is divine, and cherishing every moment is priceless. Helping our mothers feel comfortable in this journey is not just a goal but a worthy achievement !
