Podcast: Intramuscular and intravenous opioid pain relieving drugs in labour

The use of pain-relieving drugs during labour is common throughout the world, and an updated Cochrane Review from June 2018 looks at the use of a class of drugs called opioids. Lead author, Lesley Smith from Oxford Brookes University in the UK tells us what they found." For many women in labour, an epidural containing a local anaesthetic has become an increasingly popular choice for pain relief. However, not all women choose this and some give birth in places were an epidural is not available. One of alternatives is the use of an opioid drug, such as pethidine, diamorphine or meptazinol given either intramuscularly or intravenously. These are used less frequently than epidurals but are still widely used in obstetric and midwife-led birth units to relieve pain during labour, and we did this review to satisfy the need for up-to-date information on their effectiveness.Opioids are known to provide very effective pain relief for various causes of pain, such as that following surgery, but they can cause side effects like nausea and vomiting, and drowsiness. An additional consideration when used for pregnant women, is that they cross the placenta perhaps leading to unintended effects on the baby.Therefore, despite their widespread use it is still unclear just how effective opioids are at relieving pain during labour, which one provides the best pain relief and what the adverse effects are on the mother and baby. We investigated different types and doses of intramuscular and intraven...
Source: Cochrane News and Events - Category: Information Technology Authors: Source Type: news