Drugs, Lamaze, and Beyond Ch.4 Lowe & Zimmerman

Drugs, Lamaze, and Beyond
Lying flat on your back in labor produces more painful contractions that are "less effective at opening the cervix." (p 61)
Contact you doctor or midwife immediately if you experience "stabbing pain in the abdomen that does not disappear between contractions...bleeding heavier than a menstrual period." (p. 61)
"High stress and excess adrenaline in labor may cause the lower portion of the uterus to close rather than open." (p. 61-62)
"If a birthing woman feels very fearful of the pain of labor, if she feels unsafe, or if support and guidance are not available to her, it is logical that the body tension and doubts will increase, and the pain may indeed become unmanageable." (p. 62)
"...2006 study from the University Hospital Nice, France, published in the International Journal of Obstetric Anesthesia, mothers who received a very low-dose epidural were able to walk safely without falling or stumbling. (The medication used was 0.0625 percent bupivacaine, a lower amount of the standard drug used in nearly all epidurals." (p. 65)
If you want an epidural and the ability to change positions in labor, begin conversations with your care provider at your prenatal appointments. When at the hospital ask nursing staff to help you switch positions and encourage you to do so. (p. 66)
If an epidural seems to be not working, try changing positions before upping the dose. Give the new position 15-30 minutes to work. (p. 66)
"...approximately 95 percent of birth classes are affiliated with hospitals or clinics; these are sometimes thought of by childbirth advocates as 'obedience classes,' because they may teach you to be more of a passive patient than an active informed consumer." (p. 68-69)
"...Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami, if you are able to go to a massage therapist a half-dozen times while pregnant, the relaxation effects can carry over to help you have an easier labor." (p. 70)