Abstract
BackgroundEpidural analgesia represents one of the most effective pharmacological ways to relieve labour pain. Women’s awareness regarding the use of epidurals is increasing. As the decision to use epidural analgesia during labour is affected by many social, personal and medical factors, this study aimed to explore the factors contributing to a pregnant women’s decision to use epidurals and to understand the benefit of implementing a health education program regarding epidural analgesia.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted with primigravid women visiting the Obstetric Clinics for their routine antenatal care at King Abdul-Aziz Medical City in Riyadh from October 2014 to December 2016. The participating pregnant women were educated on the use of epidural analgesia during labour by a professional health educator utilizing specially designed educational materials. We assessed the relationship between the women’s decision to request epidural analgesia and their age, place of residence, occupation, income and education level using a questionnaire.ResultsA total of 81 primigravid women were included in the study. Employed pregnant women were more likely to request epidural analgesia than non-employed women (46.7% vs. 18.2%, P = 0.019). After education, significantly more pregnant women were planning to request epidurals (mean score for answers before education was 2.12 ± 0.578 vs. 2.27 ± 0.592 after education, P = 0.013). Other variables, such as age, level of education, income and place of residence were not significantly associated with the participants’ decision to request epidural analgesia.ConclusionHealth education on epidural analgesia is an important factor in increasing primigravid women’s desire to request epidural analgesia. Education on epidural analgesia during antenatal care is needed for better decision making regarding the use of epidural analgesia during labour.
Highlights
Epidural analgesia represents one of the most effective pharmacological ways to relieve labour pain
Scant studies were done on Saudi women perception of epidural analgesia in labor and to our knowledge no Saudi study was done on the effect of antenatal education on women perception and acceptance of the procedure in labor [7]
The same study demonstrated that a higher level of education in women corresponded to an increase in their knowledge, which may positively affect their awareness of epidural analgesia as an available choice for relieving labour pain in the future
Summary
Epidural analgesia represents one of the most effective pharmacological ways to relieve labour pain. The same study demonstrated that a higher level of education in women corresponded to an increase in their knowledge, which may positively affect their awareness of epidural analgesia as an available choice for relieving labour pain in the future. During pregnancy, an important role of antenatal care services for pregnant women should be to educate them on analgesia and pain relief methods during labour. With this awareness, women can decide whether to consider these options during labour. The study aimed to explore primigravid women’s awareness of epidural analgesia and the factors affecting their decisions to request epidural analgesia at the National Guard Health Affairs/King Abdul-Aziz Medical City in Riyadh. We determined the effectiveness of an epidural analgesia educational program
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