Supporting Women with Epidurals

As I was lying in bed last night I was thinking about the differences in the way we treat women who have epidurals. For the most part, I think that women who are laboring without pain medication tend to command the attention of room. She *looks* like she’s in labor. But what about women, who for whatever reason, have an epidural? With of these births I think of the attention being drawn towards other things. Be that the dad, the grandparents or the television. How do we keep the focus on the woman and the birth when a woman is not feeling her body’s work? One thing that can help is hiring a doula. Doulas can help refocus the energy of the room. What about massaging her hands, talking to her about her baby, etc? What kinds of things do you think would help support a woman who is laboring with epidural anesthesia?