Analgesia for Labor

Abstract
In 1992, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Society of Anesthesiologists issued a joint statement on pain during labor that included the following: “Labor results in severe pain for many women. There is no other circumstance where it is considered acceptable for a person to experience severe pain amenable to safe intervention, while under a physician's care.”1 Therefore, many pregnant women are now choosing to receive analgesia to relieve the pain of childbirth. In modern obstetrical anesthesiology, neuraxial (epidural or spinal) analgesia is the preferred technique for pain relief. It is often achieved by the continuous . . .