It's one of the most intense experiences a person can go through is childbirth — and a Southern Utah hospital is being recognized for making that experience a little easier.
Cedar City Hospital is expanding its birthing options with new pain-management tools designed to give mothers more control. The improvements include the controlled use of nitrous oxide — commonly known as laughing gas — along with a birthing suite designed to feel more like a luxury bedroom, a post-birth lactation clinic, and even a new form of hypnosis called hypno-birthing.
Amanda Guevera, a nurse who recently delivered her child at Cedar City Hospital, said her labor began far from ideal. Her baby was in the wrong position, labor had to be induced, and she hoped to deliver unmedicated. After 12 hours of painful contractions, she reconsidered.
“When it got to the point that I didn’t think I could do it anymore, I called her in and I said, you know, I give up. I want the epidural, and I kind of just broke down and felt like a failure,” Amanda said. “And the first thing she said is, ‘You are my hero,’ and that was huge to me.”
Nurse Kay Myers stepped in to help, while another nurse comforted Amanda’s husband. Although it would be 15 more hours before the baby arrived, Amanda said the remainder of her labor was far better thanks to the hospital’s updated pain-management approach.
Experts at the hospital say the techniques are designed to help mothers shift their focus.
“It’s really helping the mother zone in and focus not on the pain that she’s experienced, but focus on how to distract herself or how to use her mind to really not focus on that pain,” one specialist explained. “You’re using visualization, you’re using relaxation techniques.”
The labor and delivery team has been honored by Intermountain Health and a national association for its work in modernizing pain-management options.
Amanda says choosing an epidural — or any form of support — should never be seen as a weakness.
“So the fact that I was able to choose exactly how I wanted my birth to go and birth plan for the baby as well, what things I wanted after he was born, I think it’s really important that the mom has all those decisions,” she said.
