Unfortunately, the most common approach to pain
management for women in labor is pharmaceuticals, which can have negative side effects for both baby and mom.
In a study with more than 6,100 pregnant
women across the country, researchers randomly assigned half of the
women to an expectant
management group (waiting
for labor to begin on its own and intervening only if problems occur) and the other half to a group that would undergo an elective induction (inducing
labor without a medical reason) at 39 weeks of gestation.