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Epidural and Natural Childbirth Childbirth is principal and very important mission for every woman. Every future mum looks forward to happiness of bringing a new person to this world, and to joy of seeing him growing up and developing. But at the same time every pregnant woman is usually very anxious about the severe pain and suffering, which always accompany the whole long process of natural childbirth. Modern medical technologies offer some opportunities to cope with the pain by using, for example, strong and effective palliative medicines, which can help to ease the suffering. Another option for woman to considerably decrease the pain during the childbirth is to choose epidural anesthesia to be applied right after labor pains begin. This type of anesthesia is frequently recommended by doctors, and it is performed as the following: a thin needle, connected to a little catheter, is placed into epidural space of the womans spine.
The needle fills epidural space with special medication, which influences directly on local nerves of the spine, relaxes the muscles of pelvis and relieves the pain a lot. Then the needle must be removed and the amount of medication can be controlled with the help of the catheter: it remains in womans spine, so doctors can transmit additional portions of medication, if necessary. To avoid the risk of removal of the catheter it must be reliably fixed to the body of the woman. Epidural anesthesia does not affect on strength or intensity of birth pangs. That is why a woman in epidural labor still feels pressure and struggles to push the baby.
After the delivery catheter must be removed from the body. With the very process and techniques natural and epidural childbirth are not much different. In both cases, if there are no complications or critical circumstances, a woman undergoes labor contractions and delivers the baby herself under control of obstetricians and medical assistants. Both these ways of childbirth are risky: both may end up with the necessity of Caesarean section, or with vaginal delivery with the help of forceps or vacuum. And complications, which may take place after epidural or natural childbirth, are mostly similar: in both cases new mothers must cope with afterbirth pains and transformations of the organism, and they must undergo psychological and moral changes, connected with the presence of another new person, fully dependent on them. Besides, both ways of childbirth are free for future mothers choice and nobody can force her to prefer one method to another.
But there are special circumstances and extraordinary health conditions of the pregnant woman, when one or another way of childbirth can be recommended by the doctors. For example, epidural anesthesia is better for a woman with low pain threshold or with emotional fear of suffering during labor. But if a woman is psychologically prepared and strong, if she has good health and physical condition, doctors would recommend her to try natural childbirth as the less risky and very natural. The first obvious difference between epidural and natural childbirth is ethical: many pregnant women afraid of terrible pains and suffering, they prefer to receive any sort of anesthesia and feel more relaxed. The other half of future mums does not mind to undergo the process of natural childbirth from the beginning till the end without any medical involvement, saying that "Women have given birth without drugs for centuries.
I don't see why I can't do it. I want the full experience. " [ 1 ] The second difference is psychological: mostly the women, who preferred epidural anesthesia to support their labor and delivery, feel psychologically better, much more confident and emotionally stable. On the other hand, during natural birth women can move much freely and have better control over the process of delivery, because they are not connected to anywhere and do not feel torpidity or weakness in their muscles. Also, epidural childbirth requires extra medical involvement, connected with placement of the needle with catheter into the spinal cord of the woman, at the same time during natural childbirth doctors try not to participate unless it is necessary.
There are differences in possible risks in cases of natural and epidural childbirths. In the first case everything is dependent on nature, qualification and experience of helping medical personnel and mood of the woman in labor. As a rule, epidural anesthesia causes prolongation of labor and contractions because of calmer pressure, and woman may not sufficiently push, not control or not direct body properly, when it is final delivery. That is why the risk of the necessity of additional medical involvement, like forceps or Caesarean operation, is considerably bigger, then in case of natural delivery. The presence of catheter also makes epidural childbirth different from natural: catheter helps to regulate the level of anesthesia required for successful eliminating of pain, and it may advantage epidural birth in situation of Caesarean section, because the anesthesia for surgery is already provided.
But catheter may become a reason of different infections and irritations at the place, where it is connected to the body. Finally, doctors suppose that natural childbirth is the least affective on future physical and psychological development of the baby. After learning all the above mentioned information, personally I came to the conclusion that it must be exceptionally every womans individual choice, whether to use epidural anesthesia to relieve her childbirth pains and suffering, or to give it a try with natural childbirth. In my opinion, if there is no special prohibition of doctors and extra risks, choosing epidural way is slightly more preferable, because labor pains and efforts on pushing are supposed to be incomparably hard and incredibly exhausting. Therefore, if modern medicine can offer effective and relatively safe techniques to solve the problem of overcoming such suffering, a woman may try to use it. Of course, the decision must be made only after thorough medical investigations, tests and consultations with good experienced medical specialists and childbirth educators, who may give valuable advice.
Besides, it is very important for every future mother to learn all possible information and different details about the procedures of epidural childbirth, its specific, medical backgrounds, risks and possible complications, together with the advantages and benefits of other alternatives. Gaining proper information must be very helpful for a pregnant woman to decide between various opportunities, especially if she is getting ready to become mother for the first time in her life. In such case, it is very important to consider properly all the factors, including own psychological condition, self-perception, own readiness to undergo all the difficulties of childbirth process, and make the most sufficient decision. Delivering a baby is beautiful, but also very difficult and responsible mission, both for young mothers and for medical assistants.
Recently hospitals and marital houses in our country offer for their clients to develop in advance so called birth plan, which will clearly indicate particular preferences and desires of every woman as to childbirth process. The main idea of such plan is to help nurses, obstetricians and doctors to react adequately in critical situations and not to shoulder responsibility for making particular decisions about the level of medical involvement during the childbirth course. Very frequently women prefer to start childbirth naturally, without any anesthesia. So, only later on, if birth contractions and pain grow fiercer and unbearable, an anesthesiologist may be asked, according to the birth plan, to place the relieving needle into the spinal space and ease the suffering.
Anyway, both of these ways of delivering a baby are rather safe, and the decision about choosing natural or epidural childbirth is absolutely free and individual. Thus, nothing and nobody must push a woman to make a choice in favor of one or another approach. As an American medical analyst and scientist Ellice Lieberman, MD, Dr PH, said: "There isn't a right or wrong here. It just depends on who you are. " [ 2 ] Therefore, the main difference of epidural childbirth from natural childbirth is the opportunity to eliminate or considerably lower intensity of birth pains with the help of local anesthesia of spinal nerves, and if a pregnant woman is not ready to cope with extensive and exhausting suffering during labor and final delivery, epidural anesthesia may be rather safe and efficient solution. Bibliography: "Epidural. "Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 29 Mar. 2005.
Encyclopedia Wikipedia. 15 Apr. 2005 < web >. Greenfield, Matjorie. "Natural Childbirth versus Epidural. " Doctor Spock. 14 Aug. 2003. The Dr. Spock Company. 15 Apr. 2005 < web >.
Howland, Daphne R. "The Labor Dispute: Epidural or Natural Childbirth?" St. John Health. July 2003. Health Gate Data Corp. 15 Apr. 2005 < web >. Skin, Penny. "Weighing the Pros and Cons of the Epidural. " Childbirth Solutions. Childbirth Solutions Inc. 15 Apr. 2005 < web >.
Ting, Paul H. "Epidurals: What are the Pros and Cons?" Anesthesiology Info. 15 Apr. 2005 < web >. Works cited: Greenfield, Matjorie. "Natural Childbirth versus Epidural. " Doctor Spock. 14 Aug. 2003. The Dr. Spock Company. 15 Apr. 2005 < web >. Howland, Daphne R. "The Labor Dispute: Epidural or Natural Childbirth?" St.
John Health. July 2003. Health Gate Data Corp. 15 Apr. 2005 < web >.
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Research essay sample on Epidural And Natural Childbirth
