Other pain relief topics
- Entonox (gas and air)
- Opioids
- Epidurals
- Patient-controlled intravenous analgesia
- Water birth
- Complementary therapies
Opioids
Information on opioids and how they can be used to provide pain relief during labour.
- Opioids are strong pain medicines, like morphine. You can take them as a tablet or receive them by injection. Doctors also use them in epidurals and spinal injections for pain relief.
- A midwife usually gives opioids during labour by an injection.
- The pain should start to ease about half an hour after the injection. It can last a few hours.
- Some women say the opioid injection makes them feel more relaxed and less worried about the pain.
- They can make you feel sick. You can be given anti-sickness medicine to help.
- They can make you feel sleepy. They can also make your baby sleepy, so can't be given too close to birth.
- High doses of opioids can slow down your breathing. This is very rare with the doses given in labour.
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