Pharmacological Pain Management (Nursing)

00:01 Now, let's talk about pharmacologic methods. Yes, I am a midwife.

00:05 Yes, I enjoy working with clients who decide not to use pain medication but pain medication is something that everybody who wants absolutely should have and nurses need to understand how and when to use it.

00:18 So, let's talk about those options now. So, we have sedatives.

00:22 Now, sedatives are given to help sort of slowdown that neurologic response.

00:27 They make you sleepy and they make you drowsy.

00:30 Not so much that you don't have pain but that you don't care that you have pain.

00:35 So, sedatives may be given early in labor in order to help calm everything down and help someone feel sleepy and maybe rest through the beginning part of labor.

00:44 We can also give analgesics.

00:47 Now, analgesics often are given once pain has already started as a way to diminish pain.

00:53 They can also have a sedative side effect, meaning, they can still make you drowsy and sleepy but the goal here is pain management.

01:02 Sedatives don't necessarily work that way.

01:04 Anesthesia can also have an analgesic effect but anesthesia tends to numb the pain.

01:10 It gets rid of it. It can be localized or it can be general but anesthesia takes the pain completely away. That is what anesthesia is.

01:19 We can also have inhaled analgesics.

01:23 So, we're going to talk about a method called nitrous oxide that we can use during labor that provides that analgesic effect but it's done through the mucous membranes and not through an injection, okay? Before we give any medications, it's important that we assess to make sure that both of our clients are okay.

01:43 And when I say both, I mean, both the birthing person and the baby.

01:47 So, we need to get vital signs first to make sure the client is stable.

01:51 We don't want to give them medication that has a side effect of respiratory depression and we already have a client who is suffering from a low respiratory rate.

02:00 We also want to make sure that the client has been well-educated about what the side effects are.

02:05 Can you imagine being in labor and a situation that already maybe makes you feel a little bit vulnerable and someone gives you a medication and they don't tell you that one of the side effects could be that you might be dizzy or lightheaded, how scary that would be? You want to make sure the clients really not only have been told about the medication and the side effects but that they understand.

02:27 So, using your teach back method would be really important here.

02:30 Also, you want to ask about allergies. Don't forget.

02:35 Don't rely on your chart. Always ask.

02:37 If you're the one who's going to be pushing or giving the medication, make sure you check right before you give it to make sure they didn't forget or someone else didn't forget to write it down.