Slow lane to ease the pain | Herald Sun

MINUTES can feel like hours when you are crying for pain relief in the throes of labour.

But research has found it can actually take hours from agony to epidural.

Women can wait up to two hours to get pain relief from the anaesthetic administered in the spine.

Report author Associate Prof Scott Simmons, Mercy Hospital for Women's director of anaesthesia, said previous studies had concentrated on the effectiveness of epidurals.

"If you are a woman in pain in labour what you really want to know is- from the time I stick my hand up, how long is it going to take before I am comfortable?" he said.

In the study, the clock started ticking from the moment the woman called for an epidural until the time she felt relief.

More than three-quarters of women achieved "satisfactory pain relief" within an hour, but in some cases it took up to two hours.

It took up to 20 minutes from the time a request went out to when the anaesthetist showed up.

"There was about 20-30 minutes in actually physically being in the room making sure the patient is ready, the equipment is available and other things."

First time mother Ava Vujovich asked for an epidural while she was giving birth to Isabella Buchanan at the Mercy on Tuesday.

"My mindset going in was that I was going to be open to anything I wanted ... I asked for one because I was in an enormous amount of pain," she said. It arrived about 45 minutes later.

Assoc Prof Simmons said the women's level of pain, or when they made the request, did not depend on whether they were first-time or experienced mums.

Data was taken from than 300 patients at the Mercy and the South Australian Hospital for Women and Children.

The research was presented at the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists' annual conference.
I wonder if she had an induction/augmentation. Avoiding one of those is a huge step towards manageable pain.