ANALGESIC ANAESTHESIA TECHNIQUES FOR LABOUR

Labour pain can be alleviated using different methods and techniques, as shown in the table below:

Type of technique	Applicability
Continuous epidural block	Entire labour
Continuous intradural block	Entire labour
Intradural saddle block	Second stage
Combined peridural/intradural block	Entire labour
Bilateral paracervical block	First stage
Pudendal bilateral block	Second stage
Endovenous analgesia (opioids)	Entire labour
General anaesthesia (inhalation, endovenous)	segon estadi

Table nº 2

 

Regional techniques have displaced general techniques in the treatment of labour pain in view of three main premises: enhanced safety for mother and foetus, maximum efficacy to alleviate pain and the active participation of the labouring woman during the entire process. This grater efficacy is shown in figure 8 below comparing epidural anaesthesia with other analgesic techniques (0: no pain; 100: unbearable).