Description

There are several pharmacological and non-pharmacological techniques for pain relief during labor. Epidural analgesia is considered the most effective modality for intrapartum pain relief.

Maintenance of epidural analgesia is achieved by different techniques; continuous epidural infusion (CEI), intermittent epidural analgesia (IEA), patient control epidural analgesia (PCEA) and combination between the techniques.

Another technique, the Programmed Intermittent Bolus Epidural Analgesia (PIBEA). The advantage of this technique is that boluses are given all the time at planned intervals, so laboring women do not depend on the medical staff to receive the bolus when there is a breakthrough pain.

This method has been reported to be associated with less motor block, lower incidence of instrumental vaginal deliveries, and less consumption of anesthetic agents when compared to CEI. There are no conclusive data regarding the use of PIBEA in combination with PCEA compared to CEI and PCEA on the effect of pain relief during labor and birth outcomes. The hypothesis of the current trial is that PIBEA and PCEA will decrease the incidence of breakthrough pain, and probably shorten the second stage of labor, lead to fewer instrumental deliveries and higher women's satisfaction compared to CEI and PCEA.