Metro Atlanta OB-GYN shares pain management options after undergoing 4 C-sections

After giving birth to four babies by C-section, a metro Atlanta OB-GYN is sharing her experience with soon-to-be moms to help them with their delivery and postpartum experiences.

Dr. Nicole Sparks wants new moms to go into labor with the knowledge they need to feel prepared in the delivery room.

"It's so different when you're the one doing the surgery, and then you're the one laying on the table seeing the blue curtain right," Sparks said.

She's had all four of her babies through c-section. After her first two, she looked into different pain management methods to try and limit her usage of opiates in the recovery process.

"My experience actually with my first two, I just remember just being so groggy, so out of it, and I knew I wanted a different experience when I had my third baby," Sparks said. "I really think that my doctors did a great job, and especially this fourth time of really just giving me all of the different pain medications, so I didn't have to take too many opiates."

She said this "multi-modal pain approach" has helped patients with their recovery too.

"I will actually see patients right after they deliver, or the day after or two days after, and when we use a multi-modal pain approach, there is a clear difference in how fast they're able to get up, how alert they are when they're breastfeeding, how many times they're requesting pain medication," Sparks said. "Sometimes I'll ask the nurse, hey, when is the last time she asked for pain medication? Oh, she actually hasn't used any in 10 hours, and I'm like, oh, that's really, really good."

Sparks wants moms-to-be to have the best possible birth experience and recovery.

"Ask your doctor about what options you have, the things you're able to do, the things you're able to take so that you can just have, you know, a really good postpartum experience," Sparks said.

She is also reminding new moms not to compare their labor and delivery to others.

"I really want to tell people it's okay to need some more pain medication; we want your pain to be controlled," Sparks said. "We want your postpartum experience to be good and enjoyable because again, you never get these moments back. So, if you need more than your friend who didn't need any at all and was like 'I was up day 1 after my c-section,' that's okay. Everybody's different."

A physician hoping her experience will not only help treat women but also relate to them.