A Survey Study: Experience of Anesthesiologists About Labor Analgesia in Turkey

Aim: Pain in the birth process is one of the most painful experiences that the woman will endure throughout her life and may cause fetal and maternal dangers. The biggest reason for women who prefer delivery by cesarean is pain during childbirth. With the development of regional techniques in birth analgesia, anesthesiologists have become part of the control of birth analgesia. In this study, it was aimed to determine the thoughts and experiences of anesthesiologists about birth analgesia.Materials and Methods:In the study, a questionnaire containing questions about demographic data, methods of delivery analgesia, regional analgesia techniques, drugs used, regional analgesia complications, and reservations about birth analgesia was sent to anesthesiologists and asked to answer.Results: 182 anesthesiologists participated in the study. While 84.7% of the participants believed the necessity of birth analgesia, 103 (56.6%) of 182 anesthesiologists who participated in the survey stated that they applied birth analgesia, and 79 (43.4%) did not apply birth analgesia. Among the reasons for not intervening for birth analgesia, the most common goal was the unwillingness of the delivery room team, the lack of patient demand, and the lack of experience. While the first choice for birth analgesia is determined as epidural analgesia (77.4%), the most preferred drug is bupivacaine and fentanyl.Conclusion: Although anesthesiologists think highly that birth analgesia is needed, birth analgesia applications are insufficient. As a result, we believe that taking measures to increase the use of birth analgesia may increase the regular birth rate.