Shortage of childbirth pain relief announced

[BestZebbie]

(Posting to Chat as I couldn't find this topic anywhere on the boards already and there doesn't seem to be a general "birth" topic).

"The NHS has been hit by a shortage of epidural kits to give mothers-to-be, a key form of pain relief during childbirth, as well as the drug that women are offered as an alternative.

Supplies of epidural kits and the painkiller Remifentanil are now under such pressure that some hospitals cannot offer pregnant women their usual right to choose which one they want to reduce labour pains.

Anaesthetists have told the Guardian that the simultaneous shortage of both forms of pain management has led to “difficult discussions” with women who had been told during their antenatal care that they would have that choice but were upset to learn that it was not available."

www.theguardian.com/society/2022/aug/07/difficult-discussions-as-nhs-faces-shortage-of-childbirth-pain-relief

Speak to your midwife and make it clear you would like one. Hospitals can get them in but only a weeks worth at a time, so whilst there is perhaps better rationing than usual, it doesn't mean you have no chance of having one.

Reading such things won't help you, so please don't worry too much. I am hoping for the best outcome for you xx

Please contact your midwife-there may be a way you can still get one. But very best of luck to you x

Wind your neck in not everything is an attack by the men you know. The key component which is the issue is used in many things, also many men have them for pain and nerve blocking for many reasons as do women, not only during giving birth.

Epidural is not just for pain they also control your blood pressure.
Without one I probably would have had an emcs instead of a natural vaginal birth, this is worrying.

I think a lot of people will be negatively affected as epidurals are used for lots of medical procedures. However, I think childbirth will be seen as the main area where epidural use can be reduced and that it will be primarily due to attitudes towards women and pain.

'Mothers' as a group are likely to be by far the largest single group affected by this shortage. Women do not have to include everyone in their activism for it to be valid.

Oh there is a reason for that.

In any other case where epidurals are used, they have other choices. Maybe not as safe (eg hip operation on an elderly) but the choice is still there.

Whereas, mothers are expected to suffer because 'its childbirth and if vthe relaxed a bit, they would be ok. PLus it's a natural things and women have been given birth wo epidural for thousands of years so just get n with it' type of attitude.

In France, where more or less ALL births are with epidural, no one talks about a shortage.....

This has nothing to do with healthcare hating women. These shortages are widespread… locally our palliative care doctors have had to stop using diamorphine to care for the dying so that the supply available to labour ward is safer. Everyone choosing elective sections instead of vaginal delivery won’t help though because the diamorphine is potentially going to be a real problem there too.

generally it’s probably the remifentanil shortage that’s going to have greatest effect on anaesthesia/intensive care services.

This.

@MineIsBetterThanYours but it could be argued that there are other pain relief measures available for women other than epidural. And if an alternative pain relief for an elderly person for say a hip operation has greater risk factors, would you not prioritise an epidural for them if safer, than an epidural for a woman in labour. Obviously, it would be great if both could have an epidural but if there are shortages than unfortunately decisions like this may need to be made

I might have this completely wrong, but from the articles I have read it seems like it is not so much a case of epidural kits being diverted away from labouring women to other operative uses and more a case of two of the specific elements that make up the epidural kit being prioritised below other, different, medical uses. Specifically, I believe it is the contrast dye (also used for scans) and the cannulas.

According to some news articles here and here operative use of these specific bits of kit for epidurals is still unusual and there are lots of good alternatives (e.g. spinals). One of the articles also mentions using different scanning methods to reduce contrast dye use.

Perhaps a full and fair assessment of where this contrast dye would be best used was carried out. However, given the way women's pain is typically minimised in medicine, I am skeptical.

I'd love someone with actual medical knowledge to comment on whether this is the case?

It has nothing to do with contrast. Epidural syringes are very different to ‘normal’ syringes and are coloured blue to help differentiate them from other syringe types. It looks like they aren’t able to source this blue dye and so are not making syringes.

Spinals and epidurals aren’t completely interchangeable and while spinals are often used for post op pain relief where epidurals might have been in the past, that isn’t always an appropriate solution.

epidurals are not often used as the sole means of anaesthesia outside labour ward so it’s not the case that there are hundreds of people getting their operations done under epidural while labouring women can’t get analgesic epidurals. HTH.

Did they not offer you anything else?, I got pethidine in one labour and diamorphine in another plus gas and Air and epidurals

Was an issue 5 years ago- they’ve just found something new to blame it on. Makes a change from ‘we are sooooo busy, there’s no anaethesist I’m afraid’… same line trotted out to everyone at ours.

I was denied an epidural and nothing else was available (no gas and air where I live). The reason was that I was induced on a Saturday and they didn't have enough anaesethists at the weekend for non-emergency pain relief. If I had known I would have refused induction. I think if an epidural is not available it should be made very clear beforehand.

I was given a spinal for a c-section after the shitty student anaesthetist tried and failed THREE times to get the epidural in. Absolutely hated it. Having my legs paralysed, horrendous.

Other times I gave birth with no pain relief except gas and air and it was infinitely better. I would never, ever have another epidural or spinal in any circumstances.

@BloodAndFire

Glad I had mine. Saved me a birth trauma, no issues with it at all.

Delivered my other two with no pain relief which was fab but I’m still grateful to have had the choice.

They are used for some surgery procedures etc too

Choice is great but I don't think I was really properly informed about what it would be like, or perhaps I just didn't understand quite how horrific it would be to have an injection in my spine. I had weird twinges down my legs for weeks afterwards. And when it finally wore off, I had about 10 seconds of huge relief that I wouldn't be paralysed for life, before the worst pain I've ever felt kicked in.

@BloodAndFire

That sounds rough. I didn’t feel my epidural going in as the pain of the birth was more intense. All I remember is the sweet relief from intense pain that had lasted for days. I pushed him out no drama and when it eased off I never felt any pain.

I didn’t have one with the other two but there was always the option. To not even be given the option is awful.

There have been outages of all sorts of drugs - all of which are important to those who need them.

Given the demographics of this site, this one will have a specific resonance, but it’s really part of a wider (and global) pattern.

Please get angry for everyone, and every outage, and every place with affordability /supply issues

@x2boys nope it was honestly the single most horrific experience of my life. To this day I'm stunned that myself and my baby made it out of there okay.
I did a thread around the time abd received some food advice abd did go for a feedback session.
But threads like this just price how hollow hospital promises are sometimes.

That sounds terrible 😢

OMFG.

what can we do? Would it make any difference to campaign?!

Don’t be such a muppet. If something is unavailable, it’s unavailable.

Medics aren’t hiding stores of stuff in cupboards in order to manipulate women into forgoing anaesthesia and analgesia.

Now stop with the scaremongering rhetoric.