Pain Management for the Pregnant, Lactating, and Neonatal to Pediatric Cat and Dog

Little information on the approach to analgesia in pregnant, nursing, or extremely young animals is available in the veterinary literature. Various analgesics and analgesic modalities are discussed, with emphasis placed on preference and caution for each group. Management of pain is extremely important in all animals but especially in the extremely young, in which a permanent hyperalgesic response to pain may exist with inadequate therapy. Inappropriate analgesic selection in pregnant and nursing mothers may result in congenital abnormalities of the fetus or neonate. Inadequate analgesia in nursing mothers may cause aggressive behavior toward the young. Review of the human and veterinary literature on the various analgesics available for use in this group of patients is discussed.