The prospect of childbirth is a daunting one for most women, especially those in their first pregnancy with no idea of what to expect. Will it be a quick and simple affair, or a long endurance? For most women of course, their labour will be somewhere in between, and while there’s no denying that there’s going to be some pain involved, there are now several effective methods of alleviating the discomfort involved.

The modern trend is to use as little pain relief as possible so as to have more natural birth, and while this is a laudable ideal, there is no shame at all in asking for relief when the pain becomes too much. Here are the most common forms of relief, starting with the most natural (and maybe least effective), rising up the scale to strong medication which can have side effects for both mother and baby.

The Birthing Pool

Many women find that spending most of their labour immersed in water can have a powerful reducing effect on the discomfort involved, and birthing pools are becoming more and more common in delivery suites. Unfortunately, there isn’t any way to guarantee that one will be available when you need it, so you’ll need to consider other options in case you need to use them.

TENS Machines

These are devices which send minor electric shocks to the nerves in the lower back, which is said to disrupt the pain signals without having any other side effects. These can be hired from most hospitals, but again one might not be available when you need one, so if you want to go down this route you’re better off to buy one yourself. They range in price but aren’t generally too expensive.

TENS machine effectiveness varies from woman to woman - some find they have no effect whatsoever, while others experience greatly reduced pain levels.

Gas and Air

This is the first ‘medical’ method of pain relief we’re looking at. Basically, you take breaths of a mixture of nitrous oxide (laughing gas) and oxygen when the pain of contractions arrives. The idea is to take the edge off the worst of the pain only when needed, without the drawbacks that other, stronger, drugs can have. Gas and air is also known as entonox.

Epidural

This is a common form of pain relief in childbirth. It is a procedure where a powerful painkilling drug is injected into the lower back, and can cut out pain completely for two to three hours. If necessary, it can be topped up when it starts to wear off, so pain can be relieved for the course of a long labour.

The disadvantage is that epidurals traditionally numb the whole of the lower body, so the mother-to-be needs to be lying down until birth is complete and the effects wear off. Newer drug mixtures are better in this regard, allowing some movement and even walking, which many women find helps to relieve discomfort too.

Pethidine

This is a very strong pain killing drug administered by injection. It is extremely effective at stopping birthing pain, but has two disadvantages: it can cause drowsiness, vomiting and confusion in the mother, and can easily cross the placenta and into the baby where it can cause breathing difficulties immediately after birth. The second danger can be easily averted by administering an antidote if problems arise, but it’s a possible danger to be aware of before deciding to take this drug.