Labor pains
What is labor pain?
The pain during labor is also known as labor pain.
Labor pain feels differently depending on the intensity and frequency as well as the type of labor.
Labor does not only occur immediately before and during the birth, but as early as the 20th week of pregnancy.
These pregnancy pains usually only have a low intensity and short duration, which is why the pain is usually not perceived as too strong.
Contractions that occur just before and during delivery are more intense.
The perception of pain is very individual anyway, so that general statements about pain experience are difficult or impossible to make.
The strength of the pain depends very much on one's own pain tolerance, which in turn is strongly influenced by the physical but also psychological condition.
The following article is intended to answer interesting questions about the subject of "labor pains".
Read more on the subject under: Premature labor and submerged labor
How bad are labor pains
Many women ask themselves the question of how severe the pain in labor is in the run-up to and at the latest at the end of a pregnancy.
This question is often accompanied by a certain fear of childbirth and, above all, of the pain.
The pain in labor and childbirth are often described as the worst pains in a woman's life.
Just as often, however, women describe an immediate forgetting of pain as soon as they hold the newborn in their arms.
It is difficult to rely on these statements, as the experience of pain is very individual. There is no way to reliably quantify the pain, i.e. to state its exact severity.
How severe the pain is felt depends on many factors. This includes the physical and psychological condition of the woman, the course of the birth and the external circumstances.
However, labor pain is an intense feeling that is commonly described as severe pain. Unfortunately, this cannot be denied. For many women, labor pains are an indescribably uncomfortable feeling at the moment they are experienced.
However, the pain usually disappears suddenly after the birth and it is important to keep in mind that the pain does not harm your body.
Read more about this under: Breathing in labor and the different types of labor
Why is the labor pain so severe?
During childbirth, pain of a very high intensity can sometimes occur.
But why is that so? During labor, labor is very painful. The reason for this is high intensity muscular contractions.
So the pain is a muscular pain that comes from the uterus. It is similar with periods when the uterus contracts to shed the old lining. Another component of pain is the stretching pain caused by movement of the child in the uterus during labor.
Furthermore, the child has to move in the pelvis. There is a strong stretching of ligaments and tendons, and ultimately other tissue and muscular structures in the vagina.
Stretching the cervix is also painful. In addition, hormonal factors also seem to have an influence on labor pain and its nature.
How can you relieve labor pain?
Labor pain can be relieved and improved with various measures.
Correct breathing is a very important and great way to relieve labor pain.
Breathing regularly and calmly will help you cope better with the pain and help you stay calm.
If the pregnant woman becomes hectic and panic, this also affects the pain.
Above all, hyperventilating, i.e. rapid and shallow breathing, should be avoided as this can also lead to dizziness and nausea.
Warm baths and acupuncture can help relieve labor pain prior to delivery, but they are no longer effective immediately prior to delivery.
Various medical interventions also exist to help relieve labor pain.
- This includes the administration of painkillers.
- Painkillers such as morphine or pethidine are often mentioned on the Internet for pain relief, but this does not reflect clinical reality.
- Morphine and pethidine are appropriate in their potency for labor pains, but have undesirable effects on the newborns. They are therefore not used and also not recommended.
- They are only used in exceptional cases, for example if the mother is dependent on the mother.
- One possibility for pain relief - analgesia - during childbirth is nitrous oxide sedation.
- However, there are still insufficient studies on this type of sedation, which is why most clinics prefer classic PDA - epidural anesthesia.
"Breathe in" the contractions
Breathing is an important way to relieve and control labor pain during childbirth.
Correct breathing can be practiced before the birth.
You should pay attention to deep, even breaths.
- Especially during the opening contractions, the inhalation should be twice as long as the exhalation.
- When exhaling, it can help to accompany the breathing with deep tones such as "Oh" or "Ah".
- During the expulsion phase, on the other hand, contractions occur at a higher frequency, so that it is not possible to inhale twice as long.
- You should always make sure to breathe in and out in a regular rhythm.
- Many women make the mistake of holding their breath to push with the contraction.
- This can lead to dangerous hyperventilation and panting.
The consequences are dizziness, nausea and an insufficient supply of oxygen.
Panting, which was often recommended in the past, should also be avoided for the reasons mentioned.
PDA
The PDA is an anesthetic procedure close to the spinal cord.
The abbreviation PDA stands for epidural anesthesia. The synonym epidural anesthesia is also used in medical terminology.
In this form of anesthesia, a local anesthetic is injected into the space between the spinal nerve roots and a ligament in the spine called the ligamentum flavum.
With the correct dosage, this local anesthetic numbs the nerve fibers that conduct pain, but not the motor nerve fibers that are responsible for moving the legs. This means that, unlike spinal anesthesia, you can also walk with a PDA.
The local anesthetic is injected between the third and fourth lumbar vertebrae into this so-called epidural space and numbs the important nerve fibers that are responsible for the pain during childbirth.
This means that pain during childbirth can be alleviated effectively and with as few side effects as possible.
The most common side effects of a PDA are
- Headache and nausea in the mother.
- This can be remedied quickly by drinking enough water after giving birth.
- Infections at the injection site can rarely occur after birth.
- An incorrect injection of the local anesthetic into a blood vessel could lead to cardiac arrhythmias in the mother.
- However, with the right injection technique, this almost never occurs.
- A PDA has no negative effects on the newborn.
Where can the labor pains be felt?
Labor pain is felt especially in the opening phase of childbirth directly on the uterus, i.e. in the lower abdomen.
The cramp-like pain can sometimes have a stabbing or pulling character.
With increasing intensity and frequency of labor, the nature of the pain also changes.
As the child passes through the birth canal, the pain moves further and further into the pelvis and lumbar spine.
In particular, the last phase of childbirth, when the child passes through the birth canal, leads to sometimes tearing pain in the pelvis, perineum and lumbar spine.
Can you feel labor pains without pregnancy?
Labor is defined as the muscle contractions that occur during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period.
Therefore, one cannot experience real labor pain without being pregnant.
However, there can of course be other reasons for the appearance of pain in the uterus. But this is not about labor pain.
Possible reasons for severe pain in the abdomen include tumors, endometriosis, infections, or injuries.
How can you simulate labor pain in a man?
Labor pain cannot easily be simulated in men.
After some men appear on tabloids on television, the question of such a simulation is asked more often.
In the relevant programs, test subjects were given artificial "contractions" by electrostimulation using electrodes on their abdominal muscles.
The result was severe pain and amusement for the audience.
Such a device cannot be purchased or recommended by. So labor pain cannot be simulated in men.
