Midwives in Bath are looking for pregnant women to take part in a study into the effectiveness of drugs for labour pain which could change national practice.
A research team, based at the delivery suit of the Royal United Hospital (RUH) in Bath, is looking at the effects of the pain-relief drugs Pethidine and Diamorphine.
Although widely used for pain-relief in labour, there is a lot of evidence that Pethidine is not very effective and has many unwanted side effects in both the mother and newborn baby.
Many maternity units use Diamorphine which, anecdotally, gives better pain-relief with fewer side effects but this has not been proven by research studies.
The study, which is being overseen by the Pan Bath & Swindon Primary Care Research Consortium based at the University of Bath, hopes to recruit 225 women from the Bath, Wiltshire and Bristol area.
Mothers who take part will be given an injection of Diamorphine or Pethidine during labour and questioned and observed regarding pain-relief. Following birth, the baby will be carefully observed for alertness and feeding behaviour.
Dr Jenny Tuckey, from the RUH’s Department of Anaesthesiology, said: “If Diamorphine is shown to be better for the mother and baby, this could result in a change in national practice in pain-relief in labour for the benefit of both mother and baby which is really exciting. This is a very important study and we will be very grateful if mothers volunteer to take part.”
The study is taking place in collaboration with Poole Maternity Unit over the next two years.
To find out more about participating in the study, contact Sara or Karen on 01225 824118 or email sara.burnard@wiltshire.nhs.uk