Simple Methods of Obstetric Analgesia

Abstract

In many parts of the world, the services of anesthetists or other persons trained to administer major forms of regional or general anesthesia are not available for most obstetric patients. Under such circumstances the midwife or obstetrician must rely on the use of “simple” methods of analgesia. These usually consist of the combined use of sedatives and narcotics for most of labor, and in some instances, they are followed by simple methods of inhalation analgesia or simple regional analgesia. In this chapter the clinical use of sedatives and narcotics will be briefly described. The techniques of inhalation and regional analgesia are considered in the next two chapters.