Eight Guangxi hospitals were listed among the first 913 pilot hospitals across the country to normalize labor pain relief methods and procedures.

They include the People's Hospital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Maternal & Child Health Hospital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Liuzhou General Hospital, Nanning Maternal & Child Health Hospital, and more.

The Maternal & Child Health Hospital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region is listed among the eight Guangxi hospitals to promote pain-free childbirth. [Photo/Maternal & Child Health Hospital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region]

Pain-free childbirth, which makes use of epidural anesthesia or spinal anesthesia technology, reduces the pain of a natural delivery and has been widely promoted in many developed countries.

It has yet to become common in China largely due to the shortage of anesthetists, said Huang Ailan, deputy head of the Department of Anesthesiology of the People's Hospital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

In addition, there are also widespread myths surrounding labor pain relief methods. Some parents may worry that anesthetics are harmful to the health of the newborn.

Huang explained that the spinal anesthesia technology has already been used for more than 100 years. The anesthetics used are highly diluted before being injected into the spinal canal. Only a small amount is absorbed into the blood, which hardly enters the fetus.

Some of the eight local hospitals launched promotional activities on March 27 to raise people's awareness on pain-free childbirth.

A specialized labor pain relief committee will also be established in Guangxi to strengthen training for medical staff.