Labor Pain: Partnering Through Understanding

Post Assessment

Name: Date:

1. (True or False) Labor pain is a normal, physiological process, making it unique from other forms of acute or chronic pain.

2. List a proposed benefit and proposed adverse effect of labor pain. (Choose any) Benefit: Allows women to seek assistance for birth, guides her into positions or activities to facilitate delivery, personal empowerment/accomplishment , elicits secretion of beta-endorphin. Adverse Effect: Disfunctional labor, fetal acidosis in extreme situations.

3. Name a factor that could influence labor pain in each of the following categories: (Choose any)

Physiological History of difficult menstrual periods, Primiparity, fatigue, hunger, poor physical condition, malpresentations, genetic variations, recumbent positioning

Psychological Confidence, fear, anxiety, previous experience

Environmental People, philosophies, policies, familiarity/strangeness, noise, lighting, temperature

Cultural Traditions, values, expectations, previous experiences. All can affect behavior and perceptions

Use the terms below to fill in the blanks for each of the following:

Opioid	Dorsal horn	Nociceptors
Ab	Upright positioning	Action Potential
Distraction	Gate control	Hypnotherapy

4. An impulse travels along a nerve in the form of an action potential.

5. Nerves that transmit pain signals are called nociceptors.

6. Pain can be modulated within the dorsal horn before it travels upwards to the brain.

7. The type of nerve fiber that carries pleasant touch sensations to the spinal cord is Ab.

8. This action is believed to inhibit a pain signal at its source. Upright positioning.

9. The gate control theory proposes that pain signals are blocked before traveling to the brain because of competing stimuli within the spinal cord.

10. These cognitive interventions can minimize pain perception within the brain: Distraction and hypnotherapy.

11. A laboring woman’s brain is rich with opioid receptors.

Match the hormone(s) with their effect on labor pain in the following:

(a) Endorphin (b) Oxytocin (c) Catecholamines (d) Estrogen & Progesterone

12. d Activates pain relieving pathways in the brain and spinal cord

13. b Increases pain threshold and initiates mothering behavior when released within the

brain

14. a Can alter a woman’s state of consciousness, increase pain tolerance, and induce feelings

of euphoria and dependency

15. c Increases in response to fear and anxiety, potentially inhibiting labor and increasing pain

16. Which of the following factors have been shown to significantly improve women’s satisfaction with their birth experience?

(Circle all that apply)

a. Involvement in decision making

b. 24-hour anesthesia coverage

c. Support from caregivers

d. Minimal pain

e. Expectations met

17. Name one source for evidence based information on labor pain and/or other aspects of maternity care: AWHONN (Obstetric professional organization), childbirthconnection.org, Cochrane Database, or other sources.