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Does Oxycodone After C-section Help Maternal Pain? Benefits And Side Effects

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Oxycodone After C section

Cesarean births have become a common surgical procedure for maternal delivery nowadays. One of the drawbacks of this surgery is the pain that mothers deal with after delivering the infant. Oxycodone stands out as the number 1 option for doctors. Oxycodone after C-section is very common and is seen as one of the best solutions for cesarean section pain. But mothers fear that if Oxycodone passes their breast milk, it will affect their child. On top of that, using Oxycodone after a C-section has side effects on mothers, too. Let’s understand the effects of this opioid after giving birth.

Oxycodone After C-section: Understanding Its Effects and Risks For the Mother And the Infant

What is C-section And Why Does It Happens?

C-section is a major surgery done on mothers when they deliver after incisions in their abdomen and uterus. One of the reasons it is done is the breech presentation. Here, the baby is positioned inverted in the womb, meaning the legs or buttocks are placed towards the uterus opening. Transvers (horizontal) position, babies can be found resting in the womb. Doctors may move the child by doing ECV and carrying out vaginal birth, but it is very dangerous. The C-section delivers the baby safely. High blood pressure, problems in the placenta, and labour issues also lead to a C-section birth.

What is Oxycodone?

Oxycodone is an analgesic opioid, and one uses it when they have moderate-to-severe pain. These pains can include chronic surgical pain like C-section pain. OxyContin, Roxicodone, OxyNorm and combinations like Percocet are the brand names of Oxycodone. Thebaine, a compound found in poppy plants, helps in making Oxycodone. Also, it is available as tablets (immediate and extended-release), capsules and solutions. Oxycodone works when it binds with μ-opioid, k-opioid, and δ-opioid receptors, stops the pain signals in these receptors and sends out neurotransmitters of dopamine, norepinephrine, and GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid). This relieves the affected person from pain.

Why Oxycodone After C-section?

Oxycodone is one of the most beneficial painkillers for post-operative pain. C-section pain is exactly that kind of pain, where the surgery leaves a severe pain in mothers. Oxycodone is one of the most reliable options for effective management of Cesarean section pain, and there are many reasons for it. It is a crucial part of multimodal pain control after C-section with other non-opioids like ibuprofen or acetaminophen (Tylenol). This makes sure mothers take a limited amount of opioids for pain relief. A strong painkiller like Oxycodone is necessary to avoid any difficulty in breastfeeding.

How do Oxycodone and Breastfeeding relate?

Mothers have the right to worry about taking Oxycodone and breastfeeding their infant, who can get intoxicated through breast milk. If a little more than a small amount of Oxycodone passes through the milk, the baby’s nervous system will be affected immediately. This can cause the baby to sleep a lot, and it can also lead to breathing difficulty. But mothers do not need to stop their medication. All they have to do is feed milk to their children when Oxycodone is least effective, that is, immediately after taking the medication, because it starts showing its effect in 1-2 hours.

How Long to Take Oxycodone After C-section?

Mothers must take Oxycodone for not more than 1-3 days. It is a part of the multimodal pain treatment, where the drugs that mothers take primarily are non-opioids. Mothers have to reduce the use of Oxycodone as it is not a very safe medication in itself. This is why mothers must use Oxycodone only when they have severe pain. Doctors will prescribe smaller doses of Oxycodone to make sure the mother does not misuse it. Oxycodone can affect the mother much more negatively if not taken safely.

Side Effects of Oxycodone After C-section

Generally, misusing Oxycodone is very easy because it has sedative effects, which makes people dependent on it quickly. This is why Oxycodone is a Schedule II controlled substance. The same goes with mothers who are suffering from C-section pain, and the newborn who would have taken some Oxycodone in breast milk. Here are some Oxycodone after C-section side effects.

Maternal Side Effects

  • Drowsiness
  • Dizziness
  • Stomach pain
  • Constipation
  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Headaches
  • Itchiness
  • Shallowed Breathing
  • Low Blood Pressure
  • Confusion
  • Seizures

Infant Side Effects

  • Extreme Sleepiness
  • Limping muscles
  • Feeding issues
  • Paleness

Alternative Medications for C-section pain

There are a few alternatives that mothers can take if Oxycodone shows its harmful effects. But remember, do not change your medication unless your doctors tell you to do so. These are medications doctors can replace Oxycodone with:

  • NSAIDs: Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs like Ibuprofen, Ketorolac and Naproxen sodium.
  • Tylenol, the Acetaminophen painkiller.

These were the primary non-opioids. Here are the substitutes of Oxycodone:

  • Hydromorphone
  • Gabapentin
  • Pregabalin
  • Oral Morphine
  • Midazolam

Conclusion

Mothers should not overdose and wait for the side effects to show up, so that their doctors have to change the medications. A small amount of Oxycodone in the breast milk won’t affect children that much. So, with non-opioids, Oxycodone after C-section is the best solution for cesarean pain.

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