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Pethidine Drug.
Pethidine is a synthetically made drug (this means that the drug is manufactured)
administered to women in labour as a means to lessen the pain. It is classified under the opioids
drugs with other drugs such as codeine, heroine and Hydrocodone. Opioids is a family of
morphine-like drugs which are administered to suppress pain in great amounts and also depress
events in a patients life as they unroll. Pethidine drug has come to be known as addictive, a fact
that was initially not known. In Australia this drug is widely used and is administered to women
in labour as a means of pain relief. The first use of Pethidine drug was in the year 1940 in
Germany to lessen the pain during labour in pregnant women and it has then been used to date.
In Australian midwifery practice, Pethidine is administered mainly by two ways. The
drug can be either administered by intramuscular injection that is into the muscle of the buttock
or thigh or it can be given directly into the vein using the drip method as prescribed by the
doctor. When administered through injection it takes 10-20 minutes to start working. The
amounts given vary from 50mg to 100 mg. If the drug does not work it can be administered
again after one to three hours. The side effects of pethidine lasts for a period of 2-4 hours after
the injection. When given through the drip method it is more rapid and its starts working in 2-3
minutes as it enters the blood stream directly and reaches the nerve cells. in drip method the
effects of the drug do not last for long.
Pethidine is and opioid painkiller and thus tries to work the same way as endorphins
which are chemicals that occur naturally in the body to lessen pain. Pethidine combines with
opioid receptors (attaches itself on special side of the nerve cells) found in the brain and spinal
cord in the same way as endorphins and helps in blocking pain signals being sent from the nerves
to the brain. Pethidine works in a way that it depresses the normal functioning of the body for a
period of time. This thus drastically reduces the pain the woman in labour is actually feeling but
in some cases the pain becomes more than the woman can handle due to the severe side effects
of this drug.
The drug usually works depending on the amount administered and the woman in labour.
If large amounts of pethidine drug are administered by a midwife it will provide more effective
pain relief compared to when smaller amounts are administered. However, if large amounts are
administered to these women in labour the side effects on them as well as their unborn babies
will be more drastic. Some women in labour also report to the drug relieving them all the pain
while others report to the drug not offering any pain relief. In Australian midwifery, when the
pethidine drug is administered to weary women it may lead to sedation for a period of time.
Research has showed that pethidine offers more pain relief when the contractions are less as
compared to when the women are later into deep labour and the contractions are.

Pethidine drug when used by midwifes has a lot of benefits as well as disadvantages on
both the pregnant woman as well as the child. Some of the benefits of using this drug is that it
can actually be administered by the midwifes and thus does not necessitate the presence of a
doctor. Use of this drug thus enables the capability of a home birth to happen in Australia
through the help of midwifes. Research has shown that use of pethidine helps women relax as
well as rest, this is because of its ability to relief labour pain significantly. If the woman in pain
has an already established labour and the drug is administered it does not slow down the labour
but instead only relieves the pain. This is of great help to both the midwives and the women in
pain since the process of giving birth becomes an easier task.
With its many advantages the drug also has some effects on the pregnant women and the
child. As research has showed, the drug reacts differently on different women and as on some it
significantly reduces the pain in some women it does not work while some the side effects
usually outweigh the advantages. Pethidine may cause some women to become very nauseas. In
this case the drug is used with another drug(anti-emetic) to prevent nausea. The drug has varying
effects on different women and some experience dizziness and/or drowsiness after it has been
administered. Pethidine is a powerful drug and when administered may lead to hallucinations.
The woman may feel disoriented in terms of memory and lose touch of the events happening.
Afterwards some women may not actually remember of the labour or even the birth at all. The
drug can also affect the born baby to a certain level. This is because the drug passes through the
placenta to the baby. This usually happens if the drug is administered within 3 hours of delivery.
Effects on the baby are problems with breathing and also drowsiness. The drug should be out of
the womans system within a period of 24 hours but sometimes it takes several days. During this
period the baby may show signs of unresponsiveness and sleepy.
Pethidine has various implications for midwifery care when administering it. The
midwife has to inject the drug into the womans thigh and the drug can make her feel sick. Thus
the midwife has tom administer an anti-emetic. This anti-emetic is a drug that will control side
effects such as nausea. The midwife has to give the correct dosage of pethidine. The usually
prescribed amount is 50mg to 100mg using an injection and the midwife is not supposed to
administer more than 400mg in 24 hours otherwise there will be drastic side effects. In the case
where the drug does not take it the midwife can repeat the dosage between one and three hours.
The midwife is supposed to administer the drug in correct timing that is not three hours within
birth time or else the woman in labour might have difficulties when breathing and also become
uncomfortable during child birth. If the midwife does not fully abide to all this when
administering the drug in Australia, he or she may be deregistered following the standards
published in 2006, the code of professional conduct for midwives in Australia.