Comfort promotion and pain management

Comfort promotion and pain management Mrs.Mahdia Shaker Kony

(1) Continuous labor support • Involves offering a sustained presence to the laboring woman by: • Providing emotional support • Comfort measures • Advocacy • Information and advices • Support for the partener Mrs. Mahdia Kony

(1) Continuous labor support Support can be provided by: • Woman's family • A midwife • A nurse • Any one close to the woman Mrs. Mahdia Kony

Roles of companion • Assist the woman to ambulate • Repositioning the client • Use breathing technique • Aid with the use of acupressure • Massage • Music therapy • Therapeutic douche • Help in the birth plan Mrs. Mahdia Kony

(2)Hydrotherapy • Advantages of warm water: 1- release muscle tension 2- soothing stimulation of nerves in the skin 3- Promote vasodilatation 4- Reversal of sympathetic nervous response 5- Reduction in catecholamine Mrs. Mahdia Kony

(3) Ambulation and position • Maternal position in labor has consequences for both maternal comfort and fetal well-being. • The dorsal supine position with the gravid uterus resting on the aorta and inferior vena cava can cause decreased cardiac output and relative placental hypoperfusion. Mrs. Mahdia Kony

(3) Ambulation and position • Changing position every 30 min. • Sitting, walking, kneeling, standing, lying down, getting on hands and knees, Mrs. Mahdia Kony

(4) Acupuncture and Acupressure • Acupuncture involves stimulating key trigger points with needles. • The purpose of acupuncture is to restore qi( channels of energy) , thus diminishing pain. • Acupressure involves the application of affirm finger or massage at the same trigger points to reduce the pain sensation. Mrs. Mahdia Kony

(4) Acupuncture and Acupressure • Holding and squeezing the hand of the woman in labor may trigger the point most commonly used. • Some acupressure points are found along the spine, neck, shoulder, toes, and soles of the feet. Mrs. Mahdia Kony

(5) Attention focusing and imaginary • Uses many of the senses and the mind to focus on stimuli. • The woman focus on tactile tactile stimuli e.g. touch, massage, or stroking, • May focus on auditory stimuli e.g. music and verbal encouragement. • Visual stimuli • Breathing, relaxation, positive thinking, and positive visualisation. Mrs. Mahdia Kony

(6) Therapeutic touch and massage • Massage works as a form of pain relief by increasing the production of endorphins in the body which reduce the transmission of signals between nerve cells and thus lower the perception of pain. • Massage of the neck, shoulder, back, thighs, feet, and hands. Mrs. Mahdia Kony

(7) Breathing techniques • The woman concentrate on slow-paced rhythmic breathing. • Verbal commands from her partner supply an ongoing auditory stimulus to her brain. Mrs. Mahdia Kony

Analgesic Drugs • Common analgesic regimens are listed in 14-1 page 535 • An analgesic that is appropriate during one phase of labor may be entirely inappropriate at another time. • Narcotics are best avoided until the active phase of labor is reached (i.e. 4 cm of dilation in the primigravida and 5 cm in the multipara). Mrs. Mahdia Kony

Side effect of parenteral narcotics: • It cross the placenta and may depress the fetus. • Loss of either reactivity (acceleration above baseline) or short-term variability in the fetal heart rate tracing. • Respiratory depression • Decreased alertness • Inhibit sucking • Delay in effective feeding. Mrs. Mahdia Kony

Analgesic Drugs • A narcotic antagonist, preferably naloxone hydrochloride (Narcan), in both the adult (0.4 mg intravenously or intramuscularly) and neonatal (0.1 mg per kg) doses, should be readily available when these drugs are in use. Mrs. Mahdia Kony

Regional Anesthesia • Many experts consider regional anesthesia the preferred method for vaginal delivery. • If there is any concern about interpreting the fetal monitor tracing a regional anesthetic is preferred over parenteral Mrs. Mahdia Kony

Methods of regional analgesia • The available methods include: • epidural • spinal • caudal • paracervical • and pudendal block Mrs. Mahdia Kony

Epidural anesthesia • provides the most effective labor pain relief. • Through proper technique, it is possible to alleviate significant discomfort while maintaining sufficient motor function to allow ambulation in the first stage and effective pushing in the second stage. • Risks include hypotension, respiratory arrest, toxic drug reaction, and rare neurologic complications. Mrs. Mahdia Kony

Spinal anesthesia • usually in the form of a low saddle block (so designated because the area anesthetized would occupy a saddle) is used for delivery. Mrs. Mahdia Kony

Paracervical block • a popular form of analgesia because it is simple and reliable and seemed very safe for the patient. • It has fallen out of use because of its frequent association with transient fetal bradycardias following placement of the block. • Bradycardia has been associated in particular with bupivacaine (Marcaine). Mrs. Mahdia Kony

Pudendal block • provides anesthesia in the distribution of the pudendal nerve. • It usually is reserved for the actual delivery, for outlet forceps or, for repair of the perineum after delivery. Mrs. Mahdia Kony

? Mrs. Mahdia Kony

Comfort promotion and pain management