What are my options for pain control? When should I decide which option I want and how can I make sure the birth of my child goes just as I have planned?

I recommend that patients go in to labor with an open mind about pain management. Every person experiences labor and childbirth differently and even if you’ve been through it before, you may have varying degrees of pain with each delivery. Some patients come in set on the idea of natural childbirth without medical pain control and if the pain becomes more than they expected or something else comes up requiring medication or other intervention, the patients feel they have failed. With an open mind, expectant mothers can go through childbirth with any interventions that are needed and focus on what really matters, which is a healthy mom and healthy baby. With that in mind, we have many medical and non-medical pain control methods available. There are IV pain medication options as well as intraspinal narcotic injections to control pain medically. Non-medical options include Jacuzzi tubs, massage, birth balls, and many other techniques to help with relaxation and pain control.