There are two main options available for patients who are in labor. The first is intravenous (IV) pain medications. The second is regional anesthesia usually in the form of an epidural, which is a catheter placed in your back in which medication is infused around the spinal nerves to make your belly and pelvic region numb. Epidurals, by far, relieve labor pain most effectively. The epidural medications cause you to lose feeling in your belly and pelvic area by blocking nerve signals from the lower spinal nerves.