Pharmacy Clinic
 | |  | |  | |  | |  |
Labor "Childbirth" Pain
A woman's experience of labor pain is influenced by many elements including her past
experiences of pain, her coping abilities, the birth environment, and psychosocial factors. The
definition of pain as an unpleasant and emotional experience resulting from actual or potential
tissue damage has powered the scientific study and management of pain in recent decades.
Labor pain differs from other forms of pain in that no actual trauma or tissue damage occurs.
Chapman describes labor pain as stimuli of receptive neurons arising from contractions of the
uterine muscles, which is referred to as the visceral, pelvic, and lumbar-sacral areas. To date,
labor pain management studies have focused on use of drugs that affect sensory awareness of
pain, which may have the additional effect of impeding women's active participation in giving
birth.
McCaffery's definition, "Pain is whatever the experiencing person says it is, and happens
whenever the experiencing person says it does," reflects the midwifery approach to labor
management. This philosophy supports management options that include diverse methods for
decreasing pain while not eliminating the source.
Even though there has been enormous growth in complementary alternative medicine (CAM)
research in the past decade, few well-designed studies on the use of CAM in pregnancy or
childbirth have been conducted. Some of the most interesting of the studies are those based in
traditional Chinese medicine, which is a complex ancient system of healing that includes the use
of acupuncture, acupressure (acupuncture without needles), moxibustion (stimulation of
acupuncture points with heat from a burning herb), massage, diet, herbs, and exercise to
promote health and treat disease. Within the framework of traditional Chinese medicine, the
stimulation of acupuncture points by these treatments is a way of initiating, controlling, or
accelerating body functions by stimulating energy channels (meridians) beneath the skin's
surface and rebalancing the body's energy (Qi) to restore health. Shiatsu -- a Japanese healing
modality based on acupuncture -- uses massage to stimulate the energy pathways.
Despite the exponential growth of research on traditional Chinese medicine in the past decade,
the mechanisms of action of acupuncture, acupressure, and moxibustion are still largely
unexplained in the Western scientific model. Western research on the use of traditional Chinese
medicine in obstetrics has focused on the effect of acupuncture/ acupressure on nausea and
vomiting during pregnancy and on the use of moxibustion for breech version. In the 1970s and
1980s, studies on the use of acupuncture for labor induction and labor analgesia were carried
out, but there were problems with the study methods, including small sample sizes, the variety
of methods for assessing pain, and in some studies, the lack of a control group. However, many
effective CAM therapies, including massage, therapeutic touch, hydrotherapy, music, heat, and
cold, are used by midwives to reduce labor pain
.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the use of ice massage of the
energy meridian point, large intestine 4 (LI4), during contractions to reduce the woman's
perception of labor pain. The energy meridian pathway is bilateral. The LI4 point is located on
both the right and the left hands. Ice massage was performed on both hands, and any
differences in pain sensation were measured and compared.
Ice Massage for the Reduction of Labor Pain, Bette L. Waters, CNM, RN, Jeanne Raisler,
CNM, DrPH, FACNM. J Midwifery Womens Health 48(5):317-321, 2003. © 2003 Elsevier
Science, Inc.
Further Readings
The Pain of Childbirth: Perceptions of Culturally Diverse Women
Does Acupuncture Affect Labor and Delivery?
Epidural Analgesia During Labor
experiences of pain, her coping abilities, the birth environment, and psychosocial factors. The
definition of pain as an unpleasant and emotional experience resulting from actual or potential
tissue damage has powered the scientific study and management of pain in recent decades.
Labor pain differs from other forms of pain in that no actual trauma or tissue damage occurs.
Chapman describes labor pain as stimuli of receptive neurons arising from contractions of the
uterine muscles, which is referred to as the visceral, pelvic, and lumbar-sacral areas. To date,
labor pain management studies have focused on use of drugs that affect sensory awareness of
pain, which may have the additional effect of impeding women's active participation in giving
birth.
McCaffery's definition, "Pain is whatever the experiencing person says it is, and happens
whenever the experiencing person says it does," reflects the midwifery approach to labor
management. This philosophy supports management options that include diverse methods for
decreasing pain while not eliminating the source.
Even though there has been enormous growth in complementary alternative medicine (CAM)
research in the past decade, few well-designed studies on the use of CAM in pregnancy or
childbirth have been conducted. Some of the most interesting of the studies are those based in
traditional Chinese medicine, which is a complex ancient system of healing that includes the use
of acupuncture, acupressure (acupuncture without needles), moxibustion (stimulation of
acupuncture points with heat from a burning herb), massage, diet, herbs, and exercise to
promote health and treat disease. Within the framework of traditional Chinese medicine, the
stimulation of acupuncture points by these treatments is a way of initiating, controlling, or
accelerating body functions by stimulating energy channels (meridians) beneath the skin's
surface and rebalancing the body's energy (Qi) to restore health. Shiatsu -- a Japanese healing
modality based on acupuncture -- uses massage to stimulate the energy pathways.
Despite the exponential growth of research on traditional Chinese medicine in the past decade,
the mechanisms of action of acupuncture, acupressure, and moxibustion are still largely
unexplained in the Western scientific model. Western research on the use of traditional Chinese
medicine in obstetrics has focused on the effect of acupuncture/ acupressure on nausea and
vomiting during pregnancy and on the use of moxibustion for breech version. In the 1970s and
1980s, studies on the use of acupuncture for labor induction and labor analgesia were carried
out, but there were problems with the study methods, including small sample sizes, the variety
of methods for assessing pain, and in some studies, the lack of a control group. However, many
effective CAM therapies, including massage, therapeutic touch, hydrotherapy, music, heat, and
cold, are used by midwives to reduce labor pain
.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the use of ice massage of the
energy meridian point, large intestine 4 (LI4), during contractions to reduce the woman's
perception of labor pain. The energy meridian pathway is bilateral. The LI4 point is located on
both the right and the left hands. Ice massage was performed on both hands, and any
differences in pain sensation were measured and compared.
Ice Massage for the Reduction of Labor Pain, Bette L. Waters, CNM, RN, Jeanne Raisler,
CNM, DrPH, FACNM. J Midwifery Womens Health 48(5):317-321, 2003. © 2003 Elsevier
Science, Inc.
Further Readings
The Pain of Childbirth: Perceptions of Culturally Diverse Women
Does Acupuncture Affect Labor and Delivery?
Epidural Analgesia During Labor