Review reveals enhanced pain management in labor using epidural analgesia and nonpharmacological options, suggesting better maternal and neonatal outcomes.
( J Anesth Analg Crit Care . 2025;5(1):6. doi: 10.1186/s44158-025-00224-3) Neuraxial analgesia (NA) is recognized as the most effective labor analgesia technique, with the World Health Organization (WHO) recommending epidural analgesia (EA) as the gold standard. EA reduces pain during labor and childbirth and results in better outcomes for both mother and baby. NA can include EA, combined spinal-epidural (CSE), dural puncture epidural (DPE), or continuous spinal anesthesia (CSA). Other pharmacological analgesia can include inhaled nitrous oxide or systemic opioids. Nonpharmacological interventions include transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation (TENS), acupressure or acupuncture, aromatherapy, and breathing exercises. Previous literature surrounding labor analgesia has focused on comparisons of benefits and side effects of each type of pharmacological analgesia, however, many studies have not compared nonpharmacological approaches or included the importance of maternal input in pain management during labor. This review provides a brief overview of NA, as well as providing context with non-NA and respectful maternity care (RMC) recommended by WHO.
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Ianniello et al. (2025) studied this question.
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