Obstetricians prefer pharmacological pain relief during childbirth while midwives prefer a shower and a heatpack, new Australian research suggests.
A survey of around 300 pregnant women and midwives in SA and around 200 obstetricians from across Australia found obstetricians and midwives differed in their preferred choices of pain relief during labour with women generally located between the two, according to a study published in Women Birth (2012) (link).
Researchers at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Adelaide found obstetricians had a greater personal preference for pharmacological pain relief methods for themselves or their partner, including epidural, than pregnant women and midwives.
Meanwhile for midwives, epidural was at the bottom of their list and...
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