Antenatal Class - Lesson 2 Pain Relief

This week we learnt about the different methods of pain relief.

• Entonox - Gas to make you feel high so it takes away a bit of the pain during contractions. I think this one is the best cos there're no side effects. But I wonder how effective it is when it gets really painful?
• Pethidine - Injection to lessen the pain. Makes the baby sleepy and you may feel sleepy & nauseous too. Hmmm.... not too good.
• Epidural - Injection into the epidural space of the spinal cord. Seems to be the best as it takes away 90% of the pain and doesn't affect the baby. But I heard from friends there are some side effects of epidural like backpain later on.
  
• Breathing exercises - It helps to relax and cope with the pain during labour.

I can't imagine what the pain is going to be like. Hmmm... it's best to not think about it and believe I'll be able to cope well and baby will come out fast.