HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — There is good news for expectant mothers: the Guam Memorial Hospital Authority has epidural anesthesia available for pain relief.
While the hospital remains out of stock for Stadol, the first line pain medication for laboring mothers, the hospital reminded the community that epidurals are readily available.
“Due to manufacturing delays and a subsequent national shortage, which may be resolved in April, GMHA is presently without Stadol, another drug used to manage pain in pregnancy,” the hospital authority said Friday in a press release.
GMH ran out of Stadol on Jan. 13, and asserted that practitioners were relying on second line pain medication for laboring mothers.
“Despite the challenges certain drug manufacturers face, GMHA continues to deliver quality care to expectant mothers and their newborns daily,” the hospital said in the release.
The hospital said expectant mothers “can have a safe labor and delivery of their newborn with an epidural,” noting that epidurals are safe.
“GMHA wants to assure pregnant women that … epidurals are a proven, effective method of pain relief with a very low instance of side effects. For women who prefer not to have an epidural, there are other pain medications available,” the hospital authority said in the release.
“According to the American Society of Anesthesiologists, more than 60% of laboring mothers receive an epidural for pain relief. Research has shown that epidurals are a safe and effective pain relief alternative for most laboring mothers and their babies. Complications from an epidural are extremely rare. Side effects are also uncommon, the most common being soreness and/or itchiness where the epidural was administered, but it doesn’t last,” the hospital continued.
GMH also dispelled other myths associated with epidurals as having “also been disproven.”
“According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, no evidence or research proves epidurals are harmful to babies. The amount of medication that reaches the baby is too small to cause harm,” GMHA said in the release.
The Guam Memorial Hospital is seen Monday, Jan. 22, 2024, in Tamuning. David Castro/The Guam Daily Post
