A patient, preparing for patient-controlled analgesia for pain relief after a cesarean birth, asks if this is an effective way to control pain. What should the nurse respond to the patient?

Question

A) "It is effective, but the amount of analgesic used will preclude breastfeeding.".
B) "Every woman reacts differently to pain, so it would be impossible to predict.".
C) "Not only is it effective but it also will reduce the amount of narcotic needed.".
D) "Most women do not feel well enough after surgery to want control of their own pain relief.".

Answer 1

C
Feedback:
With patient-controlled analgesia, a constant level of pain relief can be maintained, and pain and fear of injections are eliminated. This approach works well with postcesarean patients because the narcotic is injected in such small amounts; patients tend to use less analgesia with this approach than they would receive with intramuscular injections. Breastfeeding is not contraindicated with patient-controlled analgesia. Patient-controlled analgesia has proven to be an effective method to control pain. Most patients like patient-controlled analgesia because they are able to control their own pain relief.