Wellbeing of Women

2002 Grants

Research Grants

(National Birthday Trust Fund Fellowship)
An evaluation of the acceptability and effectiveness of using topically applied local anaesthetic, to reduce vulval pain associated with spontaneous vaginal delivery. Mrs Julia Sanders, Dr Rona Campbell, Dr Tim Peters & Professor Mike Harmer, University of Bristol & University of Wales College of Medicine, Cardiff - £12,753.31 over 18 months

Despite the wide usage of, and research into, pain relief in labour little attention has been given to the vulval and perineal pain associated with normal vaginal delivery. Although vulval pain lasts for a relatively short period of time compared to the whole of the length of labour, studies that have measured the pain women experience during normal vaginal delivery have found it to be amongst the most severe recorded.

Applying a local anaesthetic to a woman's vulva shortly prior to vaginal delivery may have the potential to offer a substantial reduction in pain and increased self control during the birth of their baby, and thus warrants further investigation. This trial will assess the effectiveness of using a spray of the local anaesthetic Lignocaine, in reducing pain experienced by women during normal vaginal delivery.

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