Jab of sterile water eases birthing pain

Forget drugs, injections of tiny amounts of water into the lower back can help ease birthing pain.

Reynieze Petersen Leota, 17, who delivered her first baby at the Mater Mothers' Hospital in Brisbane yesterday, said: "The pain was really bad. I couldn't handle it and then the midwife told me about the water injections.

"The pain went away straight away."

Since last year The Mater Mothers' Hospital has been offering the jabs. The institute has also launched a study to investigate the most effective technique for delivering them, reports The Courier Mail.

Midwife Nigel Lee, of the Mater Mothers' Research Centre, explained the revolutionary treatment: "It involves less than 1 ml of water being injected just under the skin, provided fast relief from back pain to about 85% of women who received it."

He said the injections worked by stimulating nerve transmitters, blocking pain signals being sent to the brain.