Inducing labour with medications can sometimes create an accelerated level of pain, over a short period, as the woman's uterus starts to react to being stimulated. A labour that is successfully induced often starts with very mild, irregular cramping (for 1 or many hours), then at some point the woman's body suddenly responds, producing strong, regular contractions with little build up (although this does not happen for every woman).
The prelabour, and early phases of the 1st stage, are often 'skipped', taking the woman straight into the active phase (or strong, established labour). This often shortens her labour, but does not allow for her body to release natural
endorphins, to help her cope with the pain. Many women are unprepared for the pain and will panic, mainly because they start thinking "If it is like this now, how will I cope for the hours to come?" The expectation that it can only get worse does not help.
The cascade.......
The woman feels she needs pain relief early, often meaning needing more pain relief methods later, as the first methods do not sustain her for the whole labour. (For example, gas, then pethidine then an epidural). An early epidural can increase the side effects of this form of pain relief and possibly inhibit the progress of the woman's labour. This may mean needing more oxytocin to keep the contractions strong, increasing the chances of the uterus becoming overstimulated or 'contracting too much'. An overstimulated uterus can stress the baby. The baby being distressed and / or the woman having slow progress, can increase the chances of her needing more interventions (such as a Caesarean, forceps or ventouse delivery). |
Positive points.....