Non-medication pain management for childbirth
You have the option of not using any pain medication during your labour and delivery. This is sometimes called a "natural" delivery. Non-medication ways of controlling your pain include:
- Labouring in water. This helps with pain, stress, and sometimes slow, difficult labour (dystocia).1, 2
- Distraction. During early labour, you can walk, play cards, watch TV, take a shower, or read to help take your mind off your contractions.
- Massage. Massage of the shoulders and lower back during contractions may ease your pain. Strong massage of the back muscles (counterpressure) during contractions may help relieve the pain of back labour. Tell your labour coach exactly where to push and how hard to push.
- Imagery. Imagery is using your imagination to decrease your pain. For instance, to help manage pain, visualize contractions as waves rolling over you. Picture a peaceful place, such as a beach or mountain stream, to help you relax between contractions.
- Focused breathing. Breathing in a rhythm can distract you from pain. Childbirth education classes will teach you different methods of focused breathing.
- Acupuncture. Small studies suggest that acupuncture is a low-risk, effective way of managing labour pain for some women.3
- Hypnosis. This is a low-risk way of managing labour pain and anxiety that works for some women.3
Continuous support
Having a support person from early labour until after childbirth (such as a doula, nurse, midwife, or childbirth educator) has a proven, positive effect on childbirth. Women who have continuous one-on-one support are more likely to give birth without pain medication and are less likely to describe their birth experience negatively.4 Although there is not a proven direct connection between continuous support and less labour pain, having a support person does help you feel more control and less fear, which are strong elements of mental pain control.
| Author: | Bets Davis, MFA Kathe Gallagher, MSW Ralph Poore | Last Updated: February 26, 2008 |
| Medical Review: | Sarah Marshall, MD - Family Medicine Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine Kirtly Jones, MD - Obstetrics and Gynecology Deborah A. Penava, BA, MD, FRCSC, MPH - Obstetrics and Gynecology | |
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