Analgesia in Labour Flashcards
What are Opioids?
Opioids are painkillers and they all work in a similar way. Opioids commonly used on labour ward include morphine, pethidine, and diamorphine
Research has shown that women who receive an injection of diamorphine into a muscle are more likely to be satisfied with their analgesia (pain relief) when compared with pethidine.
Examples of other opioids include meptazinol, fentanyl and remifentanil.
Side effects of opioids
feel sleepy.
feel sick - anti-sickness medication to stop this.
They delay your stomach emptying, which might be a problem if you need a general anaesthetic.
Slow down your breathing - oxygen through face mask and oxygen levels monitored
They may make your baby slow to take their first breath, but your baby can be given an injection to help with this.
They may make your baby drowsy, and this may mean that they cannot feed as well as normal (especially if you are given pethidine).
If you are given opioids just before you give birth to the baby, the effect on your baby is very small
