Obstetric pain relief in a district hospital. The provision of a limited epidural service.

The effectiveness of the various methods used to provide obstetric pain relief in a District General Hospital was assessed. More than 70% of mothers were generally satisfied with the pain relief they received, but the majority would, in retrospect, have liked some additional analgesia at some stage. Seventeen per cent would have liked an epidural. Neither the social group of the mothers nor their duration of residence in the area of the hospital affected the demand for additional pain relief. The demand for epidurals was greater in social groups I and II. The effect of the obstetric pain relief service on the workload of available trained staff was assessed: most of the demands were made between the hours of 0900 and 2100 hours.