I have a question about child birht?

Question

Hi, I'm not pregnant yet but I have a question. Is getting an epidural painful? If you weren't to eat before going into labor would you still need to have an enema?
I am hoping to have a child in around a year or so when i know im financially set.

Answer 1

they really don't do enemas before labor anymore. most women have a bowel movent while pushing but doctor's don't mind. and as far as the epidural goes the contractions are hurting so bad by that time you really don't even notice the needle they put in your back. but after it kicks in you feel nothing at all. and once you have your baby you forget the pain. also you can ask for an interthecal instead of epiduarl your not as numbed

Answer 2

I had to have an emergency c-section and they had tried to put the needles in my back 4 times. I kept feeling the thin tube being pushed in and they had to find another spot. FINALLY, they got it in and I still felt some kind ofpain but it could have been me because I was so scared to get a c-section and it all happened so fast. I was shivering extremely bad from the epidural(what I ended up with because the first 2 blocks didn't work) The worst part was when they had to put catheter in........It hurt more than anything. This was with my 3rd son. My first 2 were natural and seemed painful in different ways but, you recover quicker.
you never know when labor will start so just eat and don't stress.I never had an enema. However, they will give you a laxative if you haven't gone to the restroom before you leave hospital in some cases.
All birth is going to have some kind of pain and be prepared to lose ALL of your modesty!!!!!!

Answer 3

Ask your OB/GYN those questions. They all have their own practices. Enemas are not a norm these days. I had an enema 11 years ago with my first and never with the other 3. As for Epidurals my 1st 3 i did 100% natural. The 4th with an epi and I wish to god I hadnt. My epidural recovery was worse than labor recovery. But that is just what happened to me personally... Lots of people differ on epidurals.

Answer 4

Getting an epidural is not as painful as one might think. With my last child I had 5 epidurals and 2 spinal blocks (because I am one of the few in the population that is hard to "get numb") and even though it didn't hurt it really screwed up my back and I still have pain to this day where a training nurse stuck the needle way too high in my back and caused me nerve damage.
I don't even think that the require one to have an enema anymore, at least one was never brought up to me. I think this is more about personal preference. If you don't want one no one can FORCE you to have one, that is for sure.

Answer 5

My epidural hurt worse than the child birth itself.. so I guess its all a matter of opinion. My heart rate went up to 190 and I had troubles with the pain... mostly because they tried to do the epi during a contraction and the were close together and bad... no real need for an enema...

Don't be afraid... childbirth is natural.. however... don't think that its a cake walk... I thought I was fine for the first two weeks after the baby and then the meds totally wore off!


Dani

Answer 6

For me, the epidural was painful, but not really any more painful than having blood drawn or getting a shot...although it did last a little longer than having either of those things done. I had a completely awesome L&D nurse who let me hold on to her and she hugged me while it was being put in. She smelled very good, too. :) By the time the epidural is in and the pain meds start kicking in, you'll forget all about the 10 - 15 seconds of pain you had while they were putting it in. :)

I don't know about the enema...I didn't have one. I don't know that many doctors do that anymore...

Answer 7

You dont have to have an enema when you go into labor. Also, dont worry about the epidural. Labor is so incredibly painful, that the epi pales in comparison. You are going to want pain relief so bad, you wont even FEEL the epidural. It's like if you had to walk over a mile of broken shards of glass and they were going to give you a couple of novicaine shots in your feet before you did it, you wouldnt be stressing about the shots, you know what I am saying? Also,if you are worried about the pain of the epi, you can get a narcotic beforehand.

Answer 8

Getting an epidural was not nearly as painful as the labor I was in! I slept for 4 hours after mine with my first son, slept for over 2 hours with my 2nd son. They are well worth it.
As for the enemas, I ate before the birth of my second, didn't have an enema and did not have a BM either. I don't think they do enemas anymore.

Answer 9

I had my child eight years ago. I had an epidural. I don't remember it being painful. I was extremely scared because I had been told a lot of scarey stories. After they gave it to me I was fine. If their is any pain it is only when they put it in, but I was so darn scared I don't remember feeling any pain. I know their was no pain afterwards. While the contractions came on hard I played cards. I couldn't feel a thing. I could only see my contractions on the screen.


Giving birth was easy. No pain at all. The only hard part was I couldn't tell if I was pushing or not. I had to watch my stomach to see if I was doing it right.

Given the choice again, I would go with the epidural.

Answer 10

epidurals are only a little painful but when you get them you're in so much pain already you won't even care. and i don't think they give enema's before childbirth anymore. i have 3 kids, had an epidural with all 3 and never had to have an enema and i ate before delivering all 3.