Recently,amediareportonpainlesslaborindicatesthatourcountry'slaboranalgesiapopularizationrateisaround30%,andlessthan10%inmanyhospitalsinmiddleandwesternregions.Atthesametime,statisticsshowthatinothercountries,thepopularizationratesoflaboranalgesiaareashighas80%to90%.BehindthestatisticaldifferenceisthepainenduredbymanyChinesewomenwhowentthroughnaturalchildbirth,whichisaspainfulas"experiencing12brokenribs".However,toalargeextent,thispaincanbeavoidedaslaboranalgesiaisamaturetechnique.Laboranalgesiaisamedicaltermwhichmostpeoplerefertoaspainlesslabor.ThistechniquefirstoriginatedfromtheanesthetictechniquesinWesterndentistry,andhasahistoryofover100years.Asearlyasthe1850s,thequeenofEnglandhadusedchloroformtoeasethepainandimprovetheexperienceofchildbirth.Atthetime,ScottishobstetricianSimpsonwasawardedtheBarontitleforhisinnovativecontributionsinthefieldoflaboranalgesia.However,asamedicaltechniquedevelopedseveraldecadesbeforeantibiotics,itisstillnotpopularizedinChinatobenefitwomen.WomenwhoareafraidofexperiencinglaborpainchoosetogothroughCaesareansections,whichismoreharmfultothebody.OtherschooseCaesareansectionsafterrealizingthepainofnaturaldeliverywasunbearable,andhadtosuffertwice.Carryingoutpainlesslaborisnotdifficult.Thereweretworeasonsforthelowdomesticpopularizationrateinthepast.Onewastheinfluenceoftraditionalvalues,withmanyworryingtheanesthetictechniqueinpainlesslaborwillaffectthephysicalandintellectualdevelopmentoffetuses.Thisresultsinpsychologicalresistanceinmanywomen,andespeciallytheirrelatives.Theotheristherealisticreasonoftheshortageofanesthetistsandthelaginformingpricingpolicies,whichmademanyhospitalsunabletoprovidethemedicalserviceofanestheticpainlesslabor.Recently,withtheextensivepopularizationofthescientificknowledgeaboutpainlesslabor,peoplehaveraisedtheirtrustinthetechnicalsafetyofpainlesslabor,buttherealisticissuespreventingthepopularizationofpainlesslaborremainunsolved.Eventophospitalsinfirst-tiereasterncitiescannotprovidethemedicalservice,andonecanimaginethesituationinmiddleandwesternregionswherethereisalackofresources.Ananesthetistoncetalkedabouttheirdilemma.Whileknowinglaboranalgesictreatmentcanreducewomen'slaborpain,anesthetistswhoparticipateinpainlesslabor"aretired,makelittlemoney,andfacemedicalrisks."Currently,wehaveashortageinthenumberofanesthetists.InastatisticalreportpublishedbytheAnesthesiologistBranchoftheChineseMedicalDoctorAssociationinJune2019,thenumberofdomesticanesthetistsareonly92,000,forevery10,000people,thereareonly0.6anesthetists.Whereasindevelopedcountries,thereare2.5to3anesthetistsforevery10,000people.Toanesthetists,comparedwithothersurgeries,painlesslaborneedstotakeintoconsiderationthewoman’sstageoflaborandtheobstetrician’sadvice.Thismeansanesthetistsneedtoinvestlonghoursintotheprocessofpainlesslabor,somemightevenneedtobeoncall24hours.Comparedwiththehardwork,theirsalarydoesnotreflectthelaborvalue.Aqualifiedanesthetistneedstohaveatleast10yearsoftraininginmedicaleducationfromundergraduatetopostgraduatestudiesandinternperiods.However,underthecurrentpricingpolicy,theirincomesarenothigh.Accordingtospecialists,twoyearsago,thefeeforanesthetictechniqueusedinpainlesslaborinBeijingwasonly200yuan,addinguptoatotaloflessthan1,000yuanincludingequipmentfees.Tosolvetheproblemoftheoveralllackoftalentsinanindustry,fundamentally,weneedtoresorttomarketrulestoincreasetheindustry’ssalaryandwelfare,toenhancetheappealtotalents.Ofcourse,foranesthetists,theirrevenuegainshouldnotbepassedontoordinarypeople,weneedhealthpolicieswithgreaterimpacts.In2019,theNationalHealthCommissionofthePeople'sRepublicofChinaorganized913hospitalstoconductpainlesslabortrials,andrequiredhealthandrelateddepartmentsofalllevelstoprovidemedicalinsurancereimbursementandotherpolicysupportforpainlesslabor.However,seeingpainlesslabor’slowpopularizationrate,theresultofimplementationintheseregionsseemspessimistic.Painlesslaborisanimportantmoderntrend.Inthecurrenterawithslowpopulationgrowth,theimportanceofpainlesslaborisself-evident.Acceleratetheformation,implementation,andimprovementofpublicpoliciesrelatedtopainlesslaboristhebestcomfortandrespectthatcanbeshowntoeveryChinesemother.Writer:YueZhong,mediacommentator