Dr. Rachel Wykes, an OB/GYN with Lee Health says labor and delivery can cause moms a lot of fear and anxiety. “A new pregnancy brings a lot of emotion, lot of joy, hopefully, and excitement. But there’s also that impending doom of delivery day. They know there’s going to be pain. There’s a lot of uncertainties that surround it. That can promote a lot of anxiety. Anxiety promotes tension, and that can lead to the pain.” While she says pain is inevitable, there are ways to relieve and cope with it. “Pain relief is really what we’re good at with medicine. Pain relief comes in the form of pharmacologic treatments, so we have IV drugs, we have oral drugs, epidural, spinal, nitrous gas, we have a lot of options for medications,” said Dr. Wykes. But when it comes to coping with the pain that is up to the mom. “The women who come in with a plan and some tools in their backpack to help cope with the pain, they end up having a more satisfying birth experience,” she said. Doctors encourage moms to try things like breathing exercises, relaxing music, favorite movies- even essential oils to help them cope with labor pain. “If you can kick back the anxiety and you can kick back your fears; that’s just going to make your whole experience a lot better with less tension and less pain,” said Dr. Wykes. While it’s important for mothers to go into labor and delivery with a plan, doctors say it’s even more important that moms come in with an open mind. “Your birth plan should be healthy baby, healthy mom,” she said. Doctors encourage moms to find ways to stay calm and relaxed before delivery and be educated as much as possible on what to expect. All can help mom and baby have a safe and stress-free delivery. View More Health Matters video segments at LeeHealth.org/Healthmatters/ Lee Health in Fort Myers, FL is the largest network of health care facilities in Southwest Florida and is highly respected for its expertise, innovation and quality of care. For more than 100 years, we’ve been providing our community with personalized preventative health services and primary care to highly specialized care services and robotic assisted surgeries. Lee Health - Caring People. Inspiring Care. Visit LeeHealth.org

• published: 08 Apr 2018
• views: 53426