[Spinal Analgesia - Cleverly Used for Vaginal Delivery]

Neuroaxial procedures are among the most effective ways of relieving pain during childbirth. Especially in the late phase of vaginal delivery, surprising moments, instrumental methods or special maneuvers require quick and sufficient analgesia. This refers to situations with a sudden, often unexpected and particularly pronounced intensity of pain. Here the advantages of spinal analgesia over the gold standard of obstetric analgesia, catheter epidural analgesia, can be used. Spinal analgesia is characterized by a fast onset of pain relief, a profound blockage and simple technical feasibility and, like other neuroaxial procedures, is comparatively uncomplicated in pregnant women. However, it is only effective if the delivery situation is well assessed. There is no possibility of repetition without re-puncture, so that limited duration of action is a significant disadvantage. Applied drugs correspond to those described for combined spinal and epidural analgesia, such as a mixture of low-dose bupivacaine and sufentanil, and can be adapted to local conditions. In the future, longer acting substances could overcome the main limitation (temporary effect) of spinal analgesia and suitable adjuvants could further increase the attractiveness of the procedure.