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Anesthesia during childbirth has followed the pendulum’s swing over the years. From the days of “being asleep” during childbirth, to the days of “bearing it all” with no pain relief, we’ve seen the preferences of moms change at Conway Medical Center.
Conway Medical Center delivers more than 1,000 babies each year – more than any other hospital in a five-county area.
Once a woman discovers that she is pregnant there are several steps to take. Make sure you have an Obstetrician, make sure you follow his or her plan during your pregnancy, make sure you are informed about the childbirth process through educational classes and make sure you understand your options for anesthesia and pain relief during the labor and delivery process.
Even if you have decided to deliver your child with no anesthesia, remember: It’s a woman’s privilege to change her mind! Since no two women experience childbirth in quite the same way, it is important to keep your options open.
Obstetrical anesthesia is different from any other type of anesthesia in that there are two patients involved — you and your baby. It is important that you take both individuals into account when considering your anesthesia choices.
Another factor to be considered is that labor is unpredictable. It can range anywhere from relatively quick and easy to painful and exhausting. An important point to remember is that everyone experiences pain differently. Only you will know the level of pain you’re experiencing, so you should never feel guilty about asking for pain relief.
The Birthplace at Conway Medical Center offers a team of Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists who will be working with you and your physician 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to help you have the most positive birth experience possible.
The anesthesia options offered to you include:
- Local anesthesia
- Sedation
- Regional anesthesia
- Epidural
- Spinal or
- General anesthesia
One of the more popular anesthesia options being requested today is epidural anesthesia. Conway Medical Center is one of the few hospitals in a five-county area offering epidural anesthesia on a 24-hour/7 days a week basis. Epidural anesthesia is a local anesthetic delivered through a tiny tube placed in the small of the back. An advantage of the epidural is that it allows most women to fully participate in the birth experience (continue to feel touch and pressure) while relieving most, if not all, of the pains of labor.
If you would like to learn more about this anesthesia option, as well as other anesthesia options available to you, call the Obstetrical Anesthesia Department between the hours of 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. at 843-234-5160 and leave your name and number on our voicemail.