What is it like to have intrathecal method for pain management during labor?

Great!: Intrathecal block is also called a spinal block. Typically an Anesthesiologist would insert an epidural catheter to give medication around your spine (in the epidural space) and decrease the pain of labor. A spinal block is done at the same time and the medication is injected directly around the spine (rather than the surrounding epidural space). This provides almost immediate relief.

Intrathecal: method is used instead of an epidural. It is one injection and doesn't require the continual monitoring as an epidural infusion. It doesn't provide the almost complete pain relief as an epidural though and would need to be repeated.