Awareness and attitude of Indian pregnant women towards labour analgesia

Abstract

Objective: Epidural labour analgesia has not been fully accepted and is not routinely practised in most of the centres in developing countries despite many advantages of this technique. Number of patients who demand labour analgesia is remarkably low in our hospital although the service is available. The aim of this study was to find out the awareness and attitude of pregnant Indian women attending antenatal clinic of our hospital towards labour analgesia.

Methodology: Two hundred consecutive women attending antenatal clinic of our hospital and willing to participate in the study were included in the survey; they were interviewed using a questionnaire that determined their knowledge of and attitudes regarding labour analgesia.