The pain during childbirth
During delivery you experience intense pain. This pain is due to the pressure on your uterus, which promotes dilation of the cervix and thus allows the baby to be born. The pain also has the function of making you retreat to a safe place so that you can focus completely on giving birth. We recommend that you look for information about the pain during delivery: “What is the pain during a contraction like?” and “How can I deal with it?” Below you will find a video about this. A pregnancy course can also help.
You can become further acquainted with the options for pain relief during delivery. One option is attending the informational evening about the perception of pain in the LUMC (link). You will also find details about the different options (with and without medication) on deverloskundige.nl.
Medical pain relief
It is good to know that not all forms of pain relief are available in the area. These are the options:
- Geboortehuis Leiden (LUMC): epidural and remifentanil (patient-controlled analgesia pump). Nitrous oxide (gas and air) is possible when you give birth in the hospital under our responsibility (poliklinisch).
- Alrijne Leiderdorp: epidural and remifentanil (patient-controlled analgesia pump)
We have a TENS-unit which we can lend you free of charge during the delivery. The TENS disrupts the pain signal travelling towards your brain with another pain signal (tiny electric shocks). This is not dangerous for you or the baby, and it can be a good distraction from the pain of the contractions.