 Hi, I'm Dr. Ila Jalute. I'm one of the consultant, obstetrician and gynecologist associated with Manipal Group of Hospitals. And today I want to talk about one of the very common questions that patients have. What is painless delivery? So, painless delivery is a process in which we take away the pain associated with natural childbirth. In this, what we do is that when the patient is in labour, we put in a small needle with a catheter attached to it in your back. The needle is then removed and the catheter is left in place. This catheter can then be used to give you periodic medicines so that the lower part of the body remains numb and there is no pain. This is very similar to what is done during a caesarean section when we give anesthesia. Apart from the fact that in this the catheter is in place till the time you are in labour and post delivery it is removed. This catheter is very fine and you can lie on your back as well when it is in place. One of the things that patients ask is that how effective is painless delivery? The effectiveness of it may vary from patient to patient and it might not be 100% but the pain is drastically reduced. The other advantage is that although the pain is reduced, the patient still retains the ability to feel the contractions and to push when we tell her to. So she has no pain but can push the baby. That's a big advantage. But another thing that you should be prepared for that if you are opting for painless delivery is that you might not be able to move about since the lower part of your body is numb and you might have a catheter to help you pass urine. The other thing is that the monitoring of you and the baby is going to be a little more intense so that we can make sure that everything is fine. Apart from that by and large painless delivery is a very safe technique which is available and it is hugely beneficial because patients can now opt for painless natural childbirth and do not have to opt for a caesarean section just due to the fear of the pain associated with childbirth. Thank you.