What about epidurals?

Question

What is your opinion on having an epidural?

Answer 1

I didnt have much of a choice on whether or not I received an epidural (which is fine because I wanted one, I have a low pain tolerance) Being pregnant with twins and having high blood pressure at the time of my delivery it was highly recommended that I have one. I was induced for 19 hours with an IV drip of Oxytocin

Unfortunately, my epidural didnt take (was taken out of my spine and reinserted 3 times) and I ended up being injected with a narcotic 2 mins before pushing in the OR..a little too late

To be perfectly honest, when my epidural was inserted the first time it hurt as much as when I was given a needle to draw blood for routine prenatal tests. It was uncomfortable and hurt when it pierced the skin, but nothing major. It wasnt this HORRIBLE pain. When it was removed and reinserted the 2nd time, I felt nothing, the pain of my contractions was too intense for me to even notice. The 3rd time it wa removed and the anestesiologist (sp?) inserted it 8cm into my spine (the max he could go) again, my contractions were to intense and I didnt notice any pain..You can see from other answers, that it is pretty mixed and everybody is different :)

I really think its a personal choice. A lot of women are against it and for it, but I think if you want it, take it and you shouldnt be ashamed. Realistically, if you take the epidural, what are you missing out on? I felt it and it isnt exactly the most pleasant feeling in the world to say the least. Its a matter of I have a headache, it hurts, do I take a tylenol? Or do I skip the tylenol and deal with the pain..

With that said, I dont think a woman should be judged for her decision to go the epidural route. I think its disgusting and its certainly nobody's business but the pregnant woman. Epidurals are in place for a reason, and not every single woman is the same nor has the same threshold for pain. Other factors such as complications with the pregnancy (high blood pressure, preeclampsia) are cause for taking the epidural to possibly save your life :)

Answer 2

When I had my first, the doctor recommended I get one because I was not progressing. I got the epidural and went from 4 to 10 in a bit over an hour. I also ended up having to have two because the Anesthetist put the first one in wrong. Imagine having no pain on one side of your body and excruciating pain on the other with a perfect delineation between the two sides.

With this one, I have decided to go without the epidural. This will be my last baby so I want to experience a natural birth. We will see how that works out.

Answer 3

My daughter just had her baby girl last Friday. She planned to have the baby with no anesthesia. Her water broke about 1:00 Friday afternoon & we went to the hospital about 3:00. She was dilated to 1 and they started an IV of pitocin. At 10:30 Friday night she was still ony dilated to 1 but was having regular strong contractions. The OB/GYN told her she HAD to have an epidural because her body was not relaxing enough to allow her to dilate. She got an epidural at 11:00pm and we had a baby by 4:00am on Friday. People's pain tolerances are different & I think you need to use your own judgement in deciding if you are going to have an epidural or not. If the pain is so great that it is interfering with the labor process then maybe an epidural is the answer. I had 3 babies - epidurals with the first two and Nuband with the third. Good luck to you!

Answer 4

I didn't really relish the idea of a needle in my back, but after 29 hrs of labor, I gave in. I ended up with an emergency C-Section, but had I not gotten the epidural, I heard the drs talking about how lucky I was because if a woman rejects the epidural, then if she has an emergency C-section, she goes under only local anesthetic which isn't as good a pain reliever as the epidural.
That is just my personal experience. I suggest you talk to your dr about going ahead and filling out the paperwork for it with the anesthesiologist and that way, if you decide you're in too much pain and you want the epidural, all you got to do is sign. Not much brain work involved (you can't really think straight/concentrate when in labor).

Good Luck.

Answer 5

I had an epidural with my first one it didn't seem to help but that was 10 years ago. 2 years ago I had one with my little boy and I had a complication and they had to redo it. But it was great after it actually worked. It sucked having to set up with your head in your chest to get it done especially during contractions.
I still can feel where they put it. If I touch it a certain way I get a headache. I am going to get another one when I have my baby in a couple weeks though.

Answer 6

For what? You mean in labor and delivery? You mean for other things. There is an epidural space in the spinal area, any injection given there is an epidural. There are many health problems that call for injections there. Not really sure what you are getting at here!

Answer 7

Epidurals are the most popular form of medication for labor in most hospitals. Learn the benefits and risks about this medication and it's variations like the walking epidural.

Answer 8

I will NEVER do it again. everyone has a different opinion on epidurals but for me hell no, worse pain after the labor than I had with my 2 previous births and no epidural.

Answer 9

i thank god for epidurals. It made it so I could be there for my kids birth. It made it not hurt, and I felt pressure when I had to push and got to relax when i was in the middle of contractions. You still feel very little, but not any pain. Good luck and I highly suggest epidurals for a positive delivery.

Answer 10

Epidurals are great, but I made a HUGE mistake and got mine too early in to labor. The epidural will literally make your legs numb to where you can't move for hours. Wait until you absolutly need it.