Pain relief during chilbirth?

Question

It seems like everyone is out to scare me about epidurals, I read horror stories about it but I cant be that bad if women have been getting it for ages,Im not good with pain so I will need one I was wondering if there are other options you hve used and worked for you

Im not scared aout neddles I was hospitalized for a mont in my first trimester and got used to them Im just scared about the side effects of it

Answer 1

I was afraid of epidurals and intially wanted to go natural, but in the end decided to have an epidural. I was over-medicated the first time and that caused me not to be able to move my legs for a day and a half after I gave birth.
The second time, I got the epidural and had them turn off the medicine half-way during the delivery process. That worked out and I got up as soon as they said I could try. That was the best birth experience ever. I recovered so quickly, it was amazing.
My sister-in-law got the migraine headaches from hers, but she also had two other epidurals that were fine.
There are other pain medications that they can give you. Discuss your options with your doctor and they can find the perfect solution for you.

Answer 2

I have used an epidural and boy was it good. I don't do pain well either, I just curl up in a ball and get very quiet. I'm not sure I could have performed as well for the birth if I did not have pain relief. There is a numbness from the waist down, and that lasted for me a little while after the birth. Which is fine unless you have to pee and can't walk without help. And my baby is 4 yrs old now and perfect in every way. I wouldn't worry about the epidural, but if you want to explore pain relief options and their side effects, the best person to talk to is your doctor.

Answer 3

i have a horror story about epidurals.... I had my baby a year ago, and honestly, i feel to have one of the worst labors out of any of my fam or friends. I did get the epidural, and it really really helped for a long time... but my labor was 19 hrs.... the last 4 hrs of it, the epidural wore off entirely, so they replaced it twice, and it still didn't take... I was almost fully dilated too! So i was crying harder than ever- the pain was unbelievable! Then they finally decided to take me c-section because my baby wasn't descending. the spinal epidural didn't work either- I had to be put under :( Anyways, i tell most of my friends, that there is no way they'll have a delivery like that lol.... I had the worst for everyone! But, I think part of it was because I had a 9lb 10oz baby! Not even the doctors realized my baby would weigh so much!

So advice, try to get the doctors to keep track of the weight of your baby, and my doctor told me next time, a specialist will have to check out my spine. He said this doesn't happene every time, so next time the epidural might be just fine. I do recommend the epidural.... it really does help, and I have heard of many success stories with it. Honestly, I was giggling with my dad and husband while i had it in. That's one of the greatest memories during my labor... cause without it, I would have been in a lot of pain, as I was later. goodluck!

Answer 4

I had an epidural and it was not bad. The contraction pain was much worse! I had to have a c-section pretty quick too after pushing for about 45 minutes. My son's heart rate kept dropping every time I pushed. It was a good thing that I already had the epidural in. You can ask for low dose Epidural too if you don't want as much of the med. Do you ahve prenatal classes at the hospital where you will deliver? I did and they went over pain options there. It was very helpful! Good luck!

Answer 5

Well I don't think that epidurals are good for you if you suffer from back pains alot. Plus the longterm effects of them are not good for you, yes it eases your pain quickly but can permenently damage your spine or spinal cord. I had 2 children and I only allowed them to use an IV (demorol) or a local (a shot of lidocaine down there to numb it ) and it worked out fine. You don't want to be paralyzed and not be able to push your baby out, just not in pain.

Answer 6

I've had two children by Cesarean section. With my first child, I had an epidural, (it's a very small IV line that puts medicine along the spine and numbs from the waist down.) With my second child I had a spinal block, (it's an injection directly in the spine and numbs just from the waist to the knees). Both of them worked great. I had no side effects but I prefer the spinal block because I believe it is safer because they use less medicine and it doesn't completely numb your legs.

Answer 7

At first they had me on nubane and staydol, which just take the edge off. Basically you sleep and when you have a contraction you wake up. Even with thoses I would wake up cryin and screamin and my mom told me that I about broke her hand on a few occasions. When I got to 4 cm I told them I wanted an epi. I had to get 3 diff kinds of the med before it actually worked, but it was great! I couldnt feel anything! I still had enough control over my muscles that I could push properly, and only pushed for 9 mins! Best of luck to ya! And congrats!

Answer 8

Scaring you about epidurals?? That's crazy! Epidurals are a life-saver, no matter how you feel about needles. Yeah, it hurt - but not for long at all - like less than 30 seconds, and it certainly was no where near labor pain. You don't see the needle go in - it's on your back. I was grateful as hell for the epidural. Don't listen to those people - they are just tryong to scare you. Plus, people like to say horrible stories, exagerrated stories, to get sympathy and be heros. Don't listen to them. Just get the epidural - you will not regret it. It will be like less than a minute of it hurting, but trust me, the relief is sooooo awesome!

Answer 9

Honey, EVERYone AND their SISTERS< MOTHERS, AUNTS and UNCLES (lol) have some FRICKEN horror STORIES to tell about childbirth...and they're ALL TOO EAGER to tell them to a gal having her first! My first piece of advice, is: DON'T LISTEN TO THEM!!! Don'T even ENTERTAIN THEM! You are just effectively freaking yourself out and causing anxiety for you and the little one growing inside you. There is never a one-size-fits-all-approach because no 2 births are EVER the same! Do yourself a favor and relax! YOU ARE GOING TO BE OKAY!!! IT'S NOT THAT BAD!! I SWEAR!! The very FIRST thing you need to do (or actually, Un-do) is to re-program your mind and erase the negative energies you are picking up and transmitting to your brain from hearing these "horror-stories"!! You are going to RELAX and BREATHE deeply, then start telling yourself positive, birth-friendly statements over and over and over again (like a mantra) such as, I am healthy, my baby is healthy, and childbirth is going to be short and easy! Then have an epidural when it is time cuz they are fantastic! Good luck sweetie! YOU CAN DO THIS!!!!

Answer 10

There are definitely risks to epidurals, but the reason women keep getting them is that either they don't know what the risks are (and therefore don't associate any resultant issues with the epidural) or they feel the risks worth it to take. Do some research for yourself -- all you have to do is do an internet search for "epidural risks" and all kinds of information will come up.

For me, the main reason I didn't want an epidural is because I was concerned about secondary affects getting to my baby. For instance, the epidural lowers the mother's blood pressure, which in turn affects how much blood and oxygen get to the baby. This can cause distress in the baby, necessitating further intervention. It can also cause an "epidural fever" which isn't in itself dangerous but can not be distinguished from real illness, so that the baby will need to be separated from the mother (affecting bonding and breastfeeding) and have a painful septic workup. Um, no thanks.

As far as protecting myself, I didn't want an epidural because it means having to lie down during birth, not being able to move, and not being able to rely on your instincts for how and when to push, which means the likelihood of trauma from malpresentation, forced pushing, forceps, and episiotomy. You ever hear of women with incontinence or painful sex or anal fistulas after birth? Those are direct causes of medicalized birth. Again, no thanks.

Natural unhindered birth may hurt, yes, but in my mind it's worth it in order to avoid damage to my body. And there are so many ways to minimize the pain. Choose a birthing space that is comfortable and non-stressful in which you can be uninhibited, which is important for normal hormonal release (home being ideal for many women) and a care provider who understands how to facilitate normal birth (OBs are not trained in this) by giving you privacy and quiet support when needed. Move around and vocalize as you feel like it. Use hot water and massage. Look into hypnobirthing, which is like a deep form of meditation that allows you to relax fully (being tense increases pain; see Childbirth Without Fear.)