Is Postpartum Pain Control a Crap Shoot?
This article, in a slightly edited form, first appeared on Pain News Network on June 8, 2019.
Birth Should Be a Time of Joy
Anticipating the birth of my second grandchild should have been a purely joyous time. My daughter was about to become a mother for the second time. The miracle of life would unfold again in our family, as it does for thousands of families, every day, all around the world.
My daughter was scheduled to have a repeat C-section (I am sharing this story with her permission). The first operation was uneventful, apart from the fact that it produced my first, adorable grandchild.
Post-Op Pain May Go Untreated
However, this time I was concerned that my daughter’s post-op pain might not be adequately treated. Since her first C-section three years ago, the hospital system where she delivers has made a public commitment to reducing the amount of opioids prescribed for acute pain by 40%.
I worried that the hospital’s choice to lessen the amount of drugs prescribed, rather than focusing on patients’ clinical needs, might mean my daughter’s need for pain control would be unmet. The idea of my daughter enduring inadequately treated pain haunted me, as it would any father, but as a pain specialist, it may have troubled me even more. I have seen the unspeakable suffering that insufficiently managed pain can cause. I also know that inadequately treated acute pain can lead to chronic pain.
The thought that my daughter might be the victim of the hospital’s well-intended attempt to reduce opioid use was highly unsettling to me, but there was little I could do about it. Doctor or not, I could not be sure that my daughter would receive the individualized treatment she deserved after her surgery.
So, several weeks before her scheduled operation, I advised my daughter to talk to her surgeon. Specifically, I asked her to find out how her post-op pain would be treated.
The irony of the situation was not lost on me. This was the first time in my career as a pain specialist and anesthesiologist that I had to worry a family member might suffer from ineffectually managed post-op pain. It was humbling. I felt as impotent and powerless as any other bystander.
I know the hospital system is addressing the number of people who abuse drugs, and their response may well be appropriate in some cases.
But my daughter isn’t contributing to the problem. Why should she have to pay the price for the inappropriate behaviors of others?
Pain control was no longer only a professional concern for me. It was now very personal.
My fear was reinforced by a June 3 The Wall Street Journal article by Sumathi Reddy, “The Push for Fewer Opioids for New Mothers.” In it, Reddy describes the national effort to reduce the amount of opioids used post-partum.
Of course, opioids should not be used if there are safer and more effective alternatives. But some hospitals are taking aggressive steps to eliminate the use of any opioids. As a result, the individual needs of a patient may be lost in an effort to tackle a public health problem.
Something seems out of kilter with that line of thinking. It reminds me of the adage of not seeing the forest for the trees.
Patient-Centered Care for Post-Partum Pain
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recently published new guidelines for treating post-partum pain. The guideline does not exclude the use of opioids from post-op pain control. In fact, the recommendation for opioid use seems to be logical and consistent with patient-centered care.
Fortunately, my daughter’s OB is an excellent and caring clinician. Her approach is patient-centered, and she provided my daughter — cautiously — with the necessary analgesics to help her manage her recovery. My daughter did not like the way the medication made her feel, but without the medication, she would not have been able to care for her newborn.
An ACOG recommendation specifically states that post-partum pain management should involve shared decision-making. My daughter needed to understand the risks and benefits of opioids before deciding whether or not to accept them to treat her pain. This approach worked for her. The mother of my new, healthy, precious grandchild deserved no less.
All mothers across the world deserve the same level of care. I fear, in some cases, they may not be as lucky as my daughter. They may not receive the care they need, and the joy of giving birth may be superseded by the agony of unmanaged acute pain.
Doctors now see what too many people in acute and chronic pain go through and the fear and anxiety surrounding this ludicrous situation.
Who started all this crap, anyway?! Kolodney and his fellow PROP buddies—a bunch of sickos who best start worrying about the day they need pain relief acutely or chronically. I say, suffer you morons!
My late husband was a large, vibrant, happy active man who happened to have inherited PCD. His kidneys were expected to fail in his 50’s but they did the job till he was 72 in 2006. I was the perfect donor and the kidney donation personnel did all they could to speed up the donation, however, the rest of the medical red tape slowed things down so much that he had to go on emergency dialysis which caused a stroke. Total kidney failure results in the need for EPO to increase red blood cells but is now thought to cause pancreatic cancer which reared its ugly head in February 2007. He lasted until June 30th, 2007. He stayed on dialysis so he was not a hospice candidate till the last two days of his life. Without fentanyl patches I could not have cared for him at home. We didn’t need iv’s or shots. Finally and thankfully the dialysis manager told him and me that he should not come back. I was making him comfortable with the fentanyl patches and dialysis was sucking it out. My point is, that thanks to this powerful but easy to use pain med his last month was at home which is where he passed away.