Means for relieving pain should be made available to every mother in labour. No mother should hesitate to ask for relief and it should be given to her when required, although always within the limits of safety to her and her baby. Many who achieve a truly natural birth will not need such reliefs.
The aim of pain relief in childbirth is always to give the maximum relief to the mother with the minimum of harmful effect on her and on the baby. This is by no means an easy problem, since everything given to the mother tends, to pass over to the baby to a varying extent. Numerous agents have been used to relieve pain in childbirth and new drugs and methods are continually being discovered and invented. It will, therefore, be possible to mention only a few and consideration will be confined to those at present in general use.
The agents used can be divided into three main groups; these groups overlap each other to some extent, but it is important to define the nature and uses of each group. The first group is sedatives.

Two to three years spacing between one child and the next is considered necessary both for the health of the mother and the well-being of the child. The mother thus has time to recuperate from her pregnancy and can devote all her attention to the growing demands of the child.
If the next pregnancy occurs too soon, the mother has hardly any time to recuperate before she has to start preparing for the next baby. Your doctor will advise you regarding the form of contraception most suitable for you.