Epidural analgesia is one of the most common methods of relieving labor pain. The objective of this study was to examine the effectiveness of epidural analgesia, maternal satisfaction and relationship between the effectiveness of epidural analgesia and various factors. Data were analyzed retrospectively and collected during 2022. A total of 60 parturients participated in the study. Data were collected through a questionnaire before the parturient was discharged from the hospital. The mean assessment of pain on a 1-10 numeric rating scale before epidural analgesia was 7.7 and 3.4 after administration of epidural analgesia. The median assessment of pain before epidural analgesia was 8 (7¬¬-8), and the median assessment of pain after epidural analgesia was 3 (2-5). The average satisfaction with epidural analgesia on a 1-10 scale was 8.11, and the median satisfaction was 10 (7-10). Total of 35 (58.3%) parturients rated satisfaction with 10. Statistically significant association between the effectiveness of epidural analgesia and parity, dilution of administered levobupivacaine, fentanyl administration, and level of education was not found. Childbirth pain is significantly alleviated by the application of epidural analgesia and the satisfaction of parturients is very high.

UNASSIGNED: labour pain relief is a key factor for maternal satisfaction during childbirth. However, in developing countries, labour pain management is not a well-established service mainly due to negative attitudes of health care providers resulting in unmeasured suffering from childbirth for mothers. Thus, this study was aimed to assess attitude of obstetric caregiver towards labour pain management and associated factors at public health centers of East Gojjam zone.
UNASSIGNED: institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted from March 1-30, 2018. Three hundred and nine sampled obstetric caregivers have participated, with a 96.8%(299) response rate. Data were collected with structured pretested questionnaires. Data were entered into Epi data 4.2 versions and bivariate and multivariate logistic regression was carried out using SPSS 23 versions with 95 % CI to determine the association between dependent and independent variables.
UNASSIGNED: out of the study participants, 128 (42.8%) had a negative attitude towards managing labour pain. Knowledge (AOR =3.785, 95 % CI: 2.251,6.365), training (AOR=2.923, 95% CI: 1.266, 6.749) and Companion (AOR=1.834, 95% CI: 1.055, 3.189) had significantly associated with attitude of obstetric caregiver towards labour pain relief methods.
UNASSIGNED: the result of this study showed that there is still a negative attitude towards labour pain management among obstetric caregivers in the study setting. Providing knowledge-based in-service training for obstetric caregivers to change their attitude towards labour pain relief methods is advisable.

BACKGROUND: Receiving epidural analgesia during labor can possibly have negative consequences for mother and child. Yet, the use of epidural analgesia rapidly increased in the Netherlands over the last decade. Since antenatal plans for labor pain relief have been related to epidural analgesia use during labor, the aim of the current study was to develop a Labor Pain Relief Attitude Questionnaire for pregnant women (LPRAQ-p).
METHODS: Three focus group interviews were conducted with pregnant women, new mothers and caregivers and 13 candidate items were derived. Psychometric properties were tested with explorative factor analysis in sample I (N = 429) and a subsequent confirmatory factor analysis in a different sample II (N = 432).
RESULTS: The explorative factor analysis suggested a two-factor seven-item solution: a \'women\'s perception\' and \'social environment\' subscale. The confirmatory factor analysis confirmed an excellent six-item model fit with appropriate internal consistency. Higher scores on the six-item LPRAQ-p indicate greater willingness for request of pain relief medication during labor. Two-tailed t-tests showed that women with elevated levels of depression and pregnancy-specific distress symptoms, nulliparous women and multiparous women with complications during a previous delivery had greater willingness for request of pain relief medication during labor. Linear regression showed that the most important association with higher scores on the LPRAQ-p were high pregnancy-specific distress symptoms.
CONCLUSIONS: This study showed the LPRAQ-p to be a valid instrument to evaluate attitude towards labor pain relief in pregnant women. High scores on this questionnaire are associated with high levels of pregnancy-specific distress symptoms.

Ultrasound guidance for epidural block has improved clinical blind-trial problems but the design of present ultrasonic probes poses operating difficulty of ultrasound-guided catheterization, increasing the failure rate. The purpose of this study was to develop a novel ultrasonic probe to avoid needle contact with vertebral bone during epidural catheterization. The probe has a central circular passage for needle insertion. Two focused annular transducers are deployed around the passage for on-axis guidance. A 17-gauge insulated Tuohy needle containing the self-developed fiber-optic-modified stylet was inserted into the back of the anesthetized pig, in the lumbar region under the guidance of our ultrasonic probe. The inner transducer of the probe detected the shallow echo signals of the peak-peak amplitude of 2.8 V over L3 at the depth of 2.4 cm, and the amplitude was decreased to 0.8 V directly over the L3 to L4 interspace. The outer transducer could detect the echoes from the deeper bone at the depth of 4.5 cm, which did not appear for the inner transducer. The operator tilted the probe slightly in left-right and cranial-caudal directions until the echoes at the depth of 4.5 cm disappeared, and the epidural needle was inserted through the central passage of the probe. The needle was advanced and stopped when the epidural space was identified by optical technique. The needle passed without bone contact. Designs of the hollow probe for needle pass and dual transducers with different focal lengths for detection of shallow and deep vertebrae may benefit operation, bone/nonbone identification, and cost.