Therapeutic choices for the discomforts of labor.

Health care providers including nurses and childbirth educators are crucial resources for childbearing families for accurate and current information regarding nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic interventions available for pain management in labor. All medications that are administered to laboring women have maternal and fetal effects. In order to assist women in the decision for relief of labor discomforts, health care professionals must be knowledgeable of the chemical actions and adverse effects of all medications offered to women in labor. This article discusses various types of therapeutic options used for pain management for the relief of labor discomfort.