title: Women's Experiences with Neuraxial Labor Analgesia in the Listening to Mothers II Survey: A Content Analysis of Open-Ended Responses.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Most women who give birth in United States hospitals receive neuraxial analgesia to manage pain during labor. In this analysis, we examined themes of the patient experience of neuraxial analgesia among a national sample of U.S. mothers.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data are from the Listening to Mothers II survey, conducted among a national sample of women who delivered a singleton baby in a U.S. hospital in 2005 (N = 1,573). Our study population consisted of women who experienced labor, did not deliver by planned cesarean, and who reported neuraxial analgesia use (n = 914). We analyzed open-ended responses about the best and worst parts of women's birth experiences for themes related to neuraxial analgesia using qualitative content analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thirty-three percent of women (n = 300) mentioned neuraxial analgesia in their open-ended responses. We found that effective pain relief was frequently spontaneously mentioned as a key positive theme in women's experiences with neuraxial analgesia. However, some women perceived timing-related challenges with neuraxial analgesia, including waiting in pain for neuraxial analgesia, receiving neuraxial analgesia too late in labor, or feeling that the pain relief from neuraxial analgesia wore off too soon, as negative aspects. Other themes in women's experiences with neuraxial analgesia were information and consent, adverse effects of neuraxial analgesia, and plans and expectations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings from this analysis underscored the fact that women appreciate the effective pain relief that neuraxial analgesia provides during childbirth. Although pain control was 1 important facet of women's experiences with neuraxial analgesia, their experiences were also influenced by other factors. Anesthesiologists can work with obstetric clinicians, nurses, childbirth educators, and pregnant and laboring patients to help mitigate some of the challenges with timing, communication, neuraxial analgesia administration, or expectations that may have contributed to negative aspects of women's birth experiences.
authors.affiliation: From the Health Policy and Management, University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Minneapolis, Minnesota; National Institute for Children's Health Quality, Boston, Massachusetts; and Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative, and Pain Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Attanasio
authors.forename: Katy B
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Kozhimannil
authors.forename: Judy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jou
authors.forename: Marianne E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: McPherson
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Camann
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016362:Analgesia, Obstetrical / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology*; D036861:Delivery, Obstetric / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D048949:Labor Pain / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D033262:Narration; D036801:Parturition / Q000523:psychology; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011247:Pregnancy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014930:Women / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult