The NHS has today been accused of providing ‘inadequate’ pain relief to women who have experienced painful labour.
Under the guidance of health care, new mothers can be discharged as early as one day after a cesarean section or vaginal delivery.
But they are advised to take only paracetamol or ibuprofen to control the symptoms.
Campaigners and doctors have rejected the measure, claiming it was yet another example of women’s pain issues in healthcare being ignored or underexposed.
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Campaigners and doctors rejected the measure, claiming it was yet another example of women’s pain issues being ignored or under-exposed in healthcare. On
On ‘Why… why… are women fired with paracetamol and ibuprofen? This is not sufficient for abdominal surgery. ‘I hear it over and over again and it makes me angry every time. Why… why… are women fired with paracetamol and ibuprofen? This is not enough for abdominal surgery
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‘Why… why… are women fired with paracetamol and ibuprofen? This is not sufficient for abdominal surgery.
“I hear it over and over again and it makes me angry every time.”
Caroline Farrow, a Catholic commentator and mother of five, also revealed that she ‘screamed in pain’ after being sent home after her first caesarean section with paracetamol.
She said, ‘Tell me about it. I woke up that night screaming in pain after being sent home from my first section.
‘I’ve had four in total. Paracetamol did not suffice. Also: iron tablets post section. Very bad idea.
‘I thought I was falling apart. Spatone much better.’
Dr. deGiorgio told MailOnline today: ‘Women who have had a caesarean section or vaginal birth often call their GP after discharge to get stronger pain relief.
‘These can be women who are discharged home quickly or after a few days, but also with all kinds of assisted vaginal deliveries.
‘Some women are told to buy their own medicines in a supermarket or pharmacy, rather than being given medicines to take with them.
‘What needs to happen is that a woman’s individual need for pain relief is assessed before she is discharged, and she is sent home with what she needs.’
She added: ‘These may include stronger anti-inflammatory medications such as diclofenac or opiate medications such as Oramorph.
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‘Some women may need very little, which is great for them.
‘But we shouldn’t assume. There are many safe options for breastfeeding.”
Under NHS guidelines, midwives may offer new mothers non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen or diclofenac, as well as paracetamol to ease pain.
“It’s a good idea to plan this and make sure you have simple painkillers at home, such as paracetamol and ibuprofen,” the health department says.
Opioids dihydrocodeine and morphine sulfate are then occasionally recommended for women who need further pain relief.
However, health officials have previously warned against the use of opioids due to fears that some babies may be more sensitive to the side effects of these drugs, such as temporary breathing problems or even heart rate problems.
NHS England has been contacted for comment.
Dr. However, deGiorgio argued that inadequate pain relief “can be horrific and cause enormous psychological trauma for women.”
It too applies to postnatal wards,” she said.
She told MailOnline: ‘It’s ridiculous to be asked to care for a newborn immediately after a major abdominal or vaginal recovery, perhaps with a catheter in and still on a drip.
‘When you add to that the inadequate pain relief, it is devastating and causes enormous psychological trauma for women.
‘It has led to deaths and serious injuries among babies when their desperate mothers have picked them up from their babygro and unfortunately dropped them. It’s beyond tragic.
A damning report comes from last week’s NHS maternity care ‘postcode lottery’ which finds good care is ‘the exception rather than the rule’. A long-awaited parliamentary inquiry into birth trauma, in which more than 1,300 women heard witnesses, revealed that pregnant women are treated like a ‘piece of meat’
‘This is absolutely about women’s pain not being taken seriously, and this also happens during childbirth.’
She added: ‘The fear of overuse of opiate medications means that acute pain is quite often mistreated.
‘A balance must be struck between good pain relief – essential for recovery and rehabilitation – and over-prescribing for too long and carrying the risk of addiction.
‘We need to make sure the balance is right and that people are not left in desperate pain.’
A damning report comes from last week’s NHS maternity care ‘postcode lottery’ which finds good care is ‘the exception rather than the rule’.
A long-awaited parliamentary inquiry into birth trauma heard evidence from more than 1,300 women and found that pregnant women are treated like a ‘piece of meat’.
The damning report describes how a woman carrying twins who gave birth prematurely at 19 weeks was told by a consultant to ‘stop stressing’ after losing her first baby.
Another, dismissed as an ‘anxious mother’, later lost her baby to complications she warned about.
At the time, Health Minister Victoria Atkins described the testimonies in the report as “harrowing” and pledged to improve maternity care for “women during pregnancy, childbirth and the critical months that follow.”
NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard also said the experiences detailed in the report were ‘simply not good enough’.
Last year, NHS watchdog NICE was also accused of offering ‘pseudoscientific’ cheap sterile water injections as painkillers for women suffering agonizing back pain during labour.
The healthcare medicines and treatment watchdog gave the controversial treatment option – which involves injecting water into the lower back – its approval in new guidelines.
But the watchdog’s decision was heavily criticized by some high-profile doctors and campaigners on social media.
Some labeled the treatment pseudoscience because doctors don’t fully understand how it works, while others worried that women’s pain during childbirth was once again being ignored by doctors.
Although some NHS trusts already offer these sterile water injections during childbirth, NICE guidance is expected to see them spread more widely.
Options for pain relief during labor have long been a controversial topic.
Several women have also reported that their requests for strong pain relief during labor are being ignored or rejected by NHS doctors and midwives.