Pharmacological and non-pharmacological modes of labour analgesia: Recent updates and literature review

Pain management is a central aspect of modern obstetric care, achievable through various methods, including manual techniques, neuraxial approaches, systemic medications, and inhalational analgesics. This review focuses on the latest findings regarding the effectiveness and safety of these options. Over the past decade, obstetric regional analgesia has evolved significantly due to advancements in safer local anesthetics, rapid-acting opioids, combined spinal-epidural needles, patient-controlled analgesia devices, and ultrasound guidance technology. The most successful approach, according to recent meta-analyses, is epidural analgesia, which is linked to improved maternal satisfaction and advantageous safety profiles for both the mother and the foetus. In this review article the author discusses common misconceptions and debates surrounding the initiation, maintenance, and cessation of epidural anesthesia.