I really don’t think I want to use pain relief. But except for a situation in which an emergency caesarian is unavoidable, when would my doctor recommend that I accept pain relief during labour?

There are a few reasons why your doctor might strongly suggest that you use pain relief. For example, some women become so overwrought due to the pain during labour that pain relief is the only way to help them cope and contribute towards the birth. Also should a forceps or vacuum delivery be necessary then pain relief is a must. Sometimes the labour is just so difficult, long or painful, that the doctor knows from his experience that pain relief will be valuable to you. This is a situation where the trust you have built up with your doctor will become so important, and you will need to accept that he may be able to be more objective than you are about the situation. Sometimes if the labour is progressing very rapidly, pain relief may provide the added benefit of slowing the labour down enough to give you time to catch your breathe and cope with the speed of the delivery.

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