BMH rolls out labour pain relief service, raise hope

DODOMA: BENJAMIN Mkapa Hospital (BMH) has introduced a specialised childbirth service that enables women to give birth with significantly reduced labour pain, marking a major addition to maternal healthcare services at the national referral facility.

The service, known medically as epidural labour analgesia, is administered by specialist anaesthesiologists and allows mothers to remain awake and actively cooperate with health workers during delivery while pain signals are blocked.

“This service is very important for mothers giving birth. Today, we are able to provide this service and enable a mother to give birth without severe pain and suffering,” Specialist Anaesthesiologist, Dr Lugano Wilson said.

Dr Wilson said the procedure involves inserting a small catheter into the mother’s back to reach the epidural space, where medication is administered to block pain signals from the body to the brain without affecting the mother’s consciousness.

The service has already benefited mothers at BMH, including Alice John (not her real name), a resident of Ilazo in Dodoma, who said delivering her third child was unlike her previous childbirth experiences.

“Yesterday (Tuesday), I successfully delivered a baby boy and today I may be discharged,” she said.

Ms Alice said she experienced the usual labour pain while delivering her first two children, but the new procedure made her latest delivery much calmer.

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“This is my third child. I delivered the first two normally and experienced the usual labour pain. But with this child, I was able to give birth without experiencing labour pain,” she said.

She said she remained under close medical supervision throughout the procedure and was able to communicate and cooperate with doctors because she did not experience severe labour pain.

“The service is good and makes childbirth much easier. You remain very calm and can cooperate with doctors because you do not feel the labour pain,” she said.

Alice encouraged expectant mothers who fear labour pain to seek information about the service, saying it had made her childbirth experience much more comfortable.