Vaginal Birth Series - #3

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Pain Relief

Pain Relief Options 3

Explore your pain-relief options before you go into labor. Some women aim for a drug-free delivery and rely on various breathing techniques, massage, visualization, hypnosis, and other strategies to ease the pain of labor. Others prefer pain medication or regional anesthesia (such as an epidural, which numbs the lower half of your body).


Review Date: June 29, 2001
Reviewed By: Peter Chen, M.D., Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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Local Angle

Giving birth YOUR way

Roberto_Adriana_EstebanAdriana García and Roberto Jimenez were overjoyed when they discovered they were going to become first-time parents. They wanted to do everything right, which included signing up for Kaiser Permanente’s Preparation for Birth Class and checking out the Family Birth Center at Southwest Washington Medical Center. They even created an online blog so friends and family in Mexico could track the pregnancy and share their good wishes with the couple.

After taking the prenatal class, Adriana and Roberto created their birthing plan; making important decisions about how they wanted to deliver their baby. When the due date neared, they were going to stay at home as long as possible before going to the hospital … listening to music, talking to baby and enjoying the experience. Read the full story >

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