Guidelines for Management of Analgesics after Caesarean Section: Cognitive Survey

Abstract

Objective: To identify the most effective analgesic plan to minimise the perception of pain of the woman subjected to caesarean section. Material and methods: Experimental Case-control study. The 76 women of the “case” received timed multimodal therapy. In addition, the same sample received a satisfaction questionnaire with items concerning the psycho-physical wellbeing of women in relation to the treatment plan being used. The “control” group, also made up of 76 women who had recently given birth, was subjected to the unimodal analgesic plan as required. Mothers’ pain of both groups was registered every day of hospitalisation by the same parameter: “VAS”. Results: The p-value is not statistically significant on day 0, on day 2 and on day 3. This means that the two analgesic treatments can be overlapped in order to obtain the pre-established outcome. However, the only statistically significant datum is the VAS measured on day I. Therefore, a timed therapeutic approach was found to be more effective in the management of post-operative pain on day 1 as regards the need for analgesic. Conclusions: From what emerged from the study, adequate pain control is needed mostly in the 24 hours following the operation: in this phase, the woman who has just delivered a child reports a higher level of pain, presumably due to increased mobilisation and partial recovery of the physiological functions. However, the two treatment models are effective in the reduction of post-operative pain, although both treatments do not seem to be sufficient to achieve the prefixed outcome in the first day of hospitalisation. Summary: Good pain control in women after childbirth improves the psycho-physical wellbeing of the mother-child dyad and reduces the possibility of chronic pain and post-partum depression.