Labor Pain

 The experience of labour is complex and subjective. Several factors affect a woman's perception of labour making each experience unique. However as a consistent finding, labour pain is ranked high on the pain rating scale when compared to other painful life experiences. The memory of this pain however is short lived and of parturients who experienced severe pain in labour, 90% found the experience satisfactory three months later. This short term memory may be related to the positive outcome that often occurs at the end of labour. The pattern of labour pain differs between nulliparous and multiparous women and it is well documented that pain scores are higher in the nulliparous compared to the multiparous woman especially if there has been no antenatal education. Consistent findings also indicate that nulliparous women on average experience greater sensory pain during early labour compared to multiparous women who seem to experience more intense pain during the pelvic phase of labour as a result of sudden stimulation of nociceptors surrounding the vaginal vault, vulva and perineum and rapid descent of the foetus. Labour is the active process of delivering a foetus and is characterised by regular, painful uterine contractions which increase in frequency and intensity. The pain of labour has two components: visceral and somatic, and its anatomy is well documented. The cervix has a central role in both the first and second stage of labour.