Pudendal anesthesia, also known as a pudendal block, is a form of local anesthesia

Local anesthesia

Local anesthesia is any technique to induce the absence of sensation in part of the body, generally for the aim of inducing local analgesia, that is, local insensitivity to pain, although other local senses may be affected as well. It allows patients to undergo surgical and dental procedures with...

 commonly used in the practice of obstetrics

Obstetrics

Obstetrics is the medical specialty dealing with the care of all women's reproductive tracts and their children during pregnancy , childbirth and the postnatal period...

 to relieve pain during pregnancy. The anesthesia is produced by blocking the pudendal nerve

Pudendal nerve

The pudendal nerve is a sensory and somatic nerve in the pelvic region which is a large branch of the sacral plexus that innervates the external genitalia of both sexes, as well as sphincters for the bladder and the rectum...

s near the ischial spine

Ischial spine

From the posterior border of the body of the Ischium there extends backward a thin and pointed triangular eminence, the ischial spine, more or less elongated in different subjects.It can serve as a landmark in pudendal anesthesia.-Surfaces:...

 of the pelvis

Pelvis

In human anatomy, the pelvis is the lower part of the trunk, between the abdomen and the lower limbs .The pelvis includes several structures:...

. The ischial spine separates the greater and lesser sciatic foramina.

The pudendal block gets its name because a local anesthetic such, as lidocaine

Lidocaine

Lidocaine , Xylocaine, or lignocaine is a common local anesthetic and antiarrhythmic drug. Lidocaine is used topically to relieve itching, burning and pain from skin inflammations, injected as a dental anesthetic or as a local anesthetic for minor surgery.- History :Lidocaine, the first amino...

 or chloroprocaine

Chloroprocaine

Chloroprocaine is a local anesthetic given by injection during surgical procedures and labor and delivery. Chloroprocaine constricts blood vessels resulting in reduced blood loss; this is in contrast to other local anesthetics e.g. lidocaine, which do not do such...

, is injected into the pudendal canal where the pudendal nerve is located. This allows quick pain relief to the perineum, vulva, and vagina. A pudendal block is usually given in the second stage of labor just before delivery of the baby. It relieves pain around the vagina and rectum as the baby comes down the birth canal. It is also helpful just before an episiotomy

Episiotomy

An episiotomy , also known as perineotomy, is a surgically planned incision on the perineum and the posterior vaginal wall during second stage of labor. The incision, which can be midline or at an angle from the posterior end of the vulva, is performed under local anaesthetic , and is sutured...

. Lidocaine is usually preferred for a pudendal block because it has a longer duration than chloroprocaine which usually lasts less than one hour.