Do you still feel pain with an epidural??

Question

I´m pregnant with my first baby and to be honest i am really scared at the prospect of giving birth.... i´ve heard all the horror stories about how painful it is and i dont think i could handle that.... so ive chosen to have an epidural and was wondering could anyone tell me do you still feel pain or not?...

And for anyone whos thinking of lecturing me on why i should´nt have an epidural and should instead have a natural birth... save it... theres no way im going through that pain and trauma when i dont have to.

Answer 1

GIRL! this is the way to go!!!!!!!
I too was scared, but heres what happens, you get there and tell them you want one right away!

The anastesiologist will come in and prep ypur back, I did not feel it because he has to do it when you are having a contraction...The contraction is what hurts, its hard to stay still while having one though...Then after about 10 minutes I felt great!
The only thing is that my legs went numb so my husband had to hold them up for me, which kept him busy!

ITS THE ONLY WAY!! Thats my motto!

good luck, it was a peice of cake for me....Im pregnant with my 2nd now. 9 weeks along!

Answer 2

Just get one. Why feel the pain if you don't need to? I don't get the whole natural, drug-free delivery thing and I never did. Like you, I was terrified of the childbirth experience and the pain involved so I had epidurals with both of my sons and both were born healthy. Seriously, there's nothing wrong with admitting you are not a masochist. Suffering through a painful delivery doesn't make you a better mom or anything.
That said, the epidural was awesome! When the anesthesiologist administered it, it wasn't too pleasant (It is a needle inserted into your spine) but the meds kicked in fast. I did feel some pain as my labor got to the end (I had to have my water broken and I dialated really fast, so the meds couldn't keep up), at which time the doctor just increased my dosage and I was fine. All I felt was pressure - no pain. When it wore off later, it did feel wierd, but that was it. The one thing to consider is that you will be immobile during your whole labor - the epidural will numb your whole lower body. Maybe things have changed since I had my last child in 1997, but that is something to consider.

Answer 3

Take my advice and get the epidural sooner than later. I waited too long for my first and when I finally got it, it was time for me to push and it never did take effect. I will say though labor really was not that bad, so try not to get too worked up about it and not listen to other peoples horror stories. I am 40 weeks and 2 days pregnant waiting for my second to be born. I will be induced on Friday if I don't go into labor on my own. I have full intentions of having it done again and this time a lot sooner, as I don't want to miss out on this lovely sounding pain free experience. And don't listen to any of this "you can get paralyzed" if you have an epidural nonsense. They talked about it in my Lamaze class and the nurse said "sure, maybe somewhere in this world at sometime someone may have gotten paralyzed, but your chances of that happening are so slim that it is not worth thinking about". Also the epidural itself does not hurt, they numb your back first so you only feel the pressure as the adjust it. You will only feel the needle stick from the lydocane and a little buring which goes away in a few seconds.

Answer 4

Most women remember that scared feeling that you are talking about. I had an epidural, it didnt work for me sometimes it just doesnt work right.I had the best labor and i would do it ten times over to avoid one pregnancy. When you are in labor there will be a machine that will show you when your contractions are going to come stronger sort of like 1-100, 100 being ready to push or breath through the pain, i just focused on that machine so i didnt push too early and tear. I didnt tear and was totally fine. The same way that im sure you will be fine, alot of the time women sort of expand the truth or have very low pain thresholds when it comes to labor. Yet if you listen to the midwife/nurse because its their expertise, its nothing new to them its like drinking a cup of tea a day to them they drink the same amount of cups of tea as they deliver babies in a day. then you should be ok. Follow the machine so it will actually show you to the second of when to push or breath through the contraction pain. Its always worth trying the epidural or any other drug that you want to feel comfortable with but there is nothing to say that you will not still feel pain for example if the epidural is done too late (this maybe because a women is having a c-section and they give it to the more needy first). If you just think that if the labor is so bad, why would alot of women have more than one child? It simple they wouldnt. The time passes in labor so quickly that you will be fine. Its so normal to be scared and everyone has that sinking tummy feeling of can i cope with the pain, people do and so will you. Good luck and enjoy your treasure to be because they are priceless and grow up sooner than you know.

Answer 5

Although I've never had a baby before (I'm a guy), I have had an epidural and can describe to you my experience.

Last year I had major surgury and of the pain control options available I choose the epidural because it seemed to make the most sense - pain medication continuously delivered directly to your central nervous system. However, during the surgery the needle delivering the medication slipped out and I awoke to extremely intense off-the-charts pain. When the needle was finally put back in and I started to regain consciousness, I couldn't feel anything from the waist down. Although this doesn't seem like a big deal, it gave me a feeling panic, I suppose, because I felt stuck or trapped somehow. I also remember feeling "drugged" and "dopey."

My wife described the same thing when she had an epidural for the birth of our 3rd child. It was a bad experience for her as well. She delivered our first 2 kids naturally, and although it was intensely painful, the pain was over in just a few hours and she was able to "enjoy" the experience thereafter, as opposed to being affected by the epidural for several days to follow.

I've know other women who swear by epidurals and wouldn't even think of giving birth without one, so obviously it's going to come down to personal preference and what type of birthing experience you're going after.

Best of luck to you and congratulations!!!

Answer 6

I had an epidural and I felt nothing except when it was time to push. Most of the time they will give you the epidural to keep you comfortable during contractions but will turn it off when it is time to push. Don't let people scare you with horror stories because they don't happen often. When I was pregnant I heard some awful stories but I asked my doctor about them and he laughed and said that they are very rare( I'm not even gonna tell you!!). I guess people think it's funny to scare first time mothers but I am a mother and I am telling you don't be scared,if you have an epidural, and it works properly, you will only feel slight tightening when you have a contraction and the hardest part is contractions(despite what a baby coming out looks like, it is actually the best part because it is a relief!!!) I hope this helps.

Answer 7

I was scared stiff when i had my first child, because i am quite small i found it to painfull. I asked for an epidural, the pain went, i felt nothing and i actually relaxed and enjoyed the labour. I did the same with my second child. People tried to scare me out of it by saying you can end up paralised but how many mothers do you see in wheelchairs through epidurals? none that i have ever seen and if it was that risky it wouldn't be an option in the first place. The epidural didn't take 95% of my pain, it took the whole lot. Just see how you feel when the time comes. Everyone is different when it comes to pain barriers.

Answer 8

You will not feel any pain what you will feel is pressure. There is a difference. I am so sorry some women felt the need to tell you horror stories about there birth experiences. That was not right. Every woman is different, every birth is different so what you experience will not be like what anyone else will ever experience. Don't worry and enjoy your experience. Anything you go through will be well worth the effort when you see your baby for the first time. I won't go into my own story just know that I ended up with a c-sect with the first one even though I was given the choice of a natural birth ( was induced) and choose to have a c-sect with the second one b/c I would not have had a vbac if you paid me too.

Answer 9

When I had my first child, I was going to have pethidine (it hurts, but you don't care!) but my contractions started about 5 minutes apart and I could not wait for the pethidine to work (it takes about 20 minutes). So I had an epidural. It does not stop you pushing, though - believe it or not - even though I felt nothing below the waist! I ended up having an emergency caesarean (nothing to do with the epidural - my son was determined not to come out, even though they tried everything else, including the forceps and the 'loo plunger' - I think it is called ventouse, but it looked like a loo plunger to me!). And if they had not let the epidural wear down a little, I would not have had to be totally knocked out for the op. Oh, and your partner can be there if you have an epidural.

However, there are risks with the epidural as they inject stuff into the spine. Ask about pethidine - I discussed all the details with my sister (who was a midwife) and she elected for pethidine for her first two children. Her third was so quick she didn't need anything (mind you, she did not have time!).

Discuss all this with your midwife. Write a birthing plan - just understand that things are likely to change! You can always change your mind during the birth anyway! Oh, and make sure the hospital you are going to has an anaesthetist on duty at the premises - otherwise you have to wait for them to arrive!

Good luck with it all!

Answer 10

I had an epidural with my second baby and it was heaven. I was in agony for hours trying to bare with it and then finally gave in and asked for an epidural and all the pain just floated away and I could think again!! I know that you hear some stories that they can give you a bad back but I didn't experience this personally. I think if you don't want to go through the pain of labour then you should go for it. I had a natural both too with my third and a C section with my first so I've tried it all and the epidural was definitely the least traumatic for me.
Good Luck ;-)

Answer 11

OK i am pregnant with my 3rd child my first pregnancy was great and deliver they gave me my epidural and i didn't even feel like i was in labor at all after that i was numb of course i couldn't hold my legs up to push i had my husband and my mother and mother law doing that for me but the second time around they say is different of course for me it was maybe because i was induce and they say when your being induce your contractions come stronger and faster WHICH THEY DID AND I WILL NOT DO IT AGAIN and the epidural work to some affect like not feeling the baby come out but i felt lots of pressure to the point i felt as if it wasn't working because i felt the same pain before the epidural now i am pregnant again so i am wondering how it will be this time but i will tell you one thing i will not be induce i think it had affect on me last time