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Dr. Reitzel discusses the options women can choose to control pain while delivering a baby vaginally.
Dr. Reitzel:
To be honest with you, women have been delivering babies for eons without these anesthesiologists. So, number one – natural childbirth, all right? That is always a viable option.
It takes a very special woman to be able to go through natural childbirth. It takes somebody who is very committed; very focused and I’ll be the first person to cheer them on. It’s like running a marathon. It’s not something that you just do. You’ve got to plan for it.
Typically speaking you have to have a coach, a birthing coach, husband, doula, anything along those lines. You have to have a support group for that.
The second option besides from the natural childbirth is IV pain medicine. Now we have mentioned earlier that whatever medicine gets in to mom, baby sees a portion of that.
Well, as a consequence some people, if they are blessed enough to have a fast labor, can receive a single dose or maybe two doses of IV pain medicine. That’s great.
But at some point when they get close to delivery they are not going to get any more pain medicine IV because again, they want the baby to come out bright-eye and bushy tailed. If you give a big dose of medicine right before the baby delivers the baby is going to come out sleepy and that doesn’t help the baby.
About Dr. Keith E. Reitzel:
Dr. Keith Eric Reitzel, M.D., is the Clinical Director at Anesthesia Resources, Ltd. in Tempe, Arizona. Dr. Reitzel is certified by the American Board of Anesthesiology and he is certified in Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS). Additionally, he is on the Anesthesia, Critical Care, and Surgery Committees at Banner Desert Medical Center. Dr. Reitzel is licensed in Arizona, as well as North Carolina.