What are the demerits and side effects of the epidural injection which is given to easen pregnancy labour?

Answer 1

Immediate side effects include drop in blood pressure (easily treated), headache (about 1%), and paresthesias, which are usually temporary twinges if the needle or catheter tickles a nerve.

permanent neurological damage is so rare that i would never use it as a reason not to have it.

the incidence of back pain is actually about the SAME in women who had an epidural and those who did not, which tells me that the back pain probably came from, oh, say, undergoing several hours of labor in an uncomfortable bed, picking up the child every 10 minutes, plus of course, carrying around 20-60 pounds during pregnancy.

note to previous answerer - does not affect baby. anything given IV will get to baby (ie stadol), but epidural medications do not. that's the whole point.

Answer 2

I had an epidural. My doctor said it was a "cadillac" compared to a "volkswagon" (demerol).

Both my husband and I had to sign consent papers for this. The only side effect I remember being mentioned was that back problems could result from it. In rare cases I guess death is a possibility but they monitor you very closely. A nurse sat with me all night and every half hour helped me to switch sides that I was laying on. Oh, another thing the epidural does is slow down the contractions but they can counter that with something else that speeds it up.

I was in labour for about 11 hours and didn't have any horrible pain from the contractions thanks to the epidural. I did, however throw up during the pushing time but I don't know if that had anything to do with the epidural.

If I ever had had another baby I definately would have wanted another epidural.

Answer 3

Well, the epidural is not pleasant but of course helps tremendously during labor. As for side affects, for years I had pain and spasms that would come and go in the location that I recieved the shot but I no longer experince that. It probably lasted about 3 years. That is the only side affect I can recall and I have not heard other women complaining about that.

Answer 4

I had no side effects at all with mine, and neither did my baby. I was a little numb from the waist down for about 15 minutes after, then I was all better. But everyone is different.
This link might help you.

http://www.childbirthsolutions.com/articles/birth/epidural/index.php

Answer 5

The only side effect I experienced was prolonged numbness. I did not enjoy trying to bend over while pregnant with labor to be stuck in the back. I didn't think it made that tremendous a difference in the labor. In fact, it kinda affected my baby.

Answer 6

Well i have had 2 babies (all at different times) and i had the epideral given to me 1.since i was experiencing back labor butf.y.i. it only numbed my left leg for a few minutes and then i have had to feel the whole labor in my back. 2. the other time was when i was again haveing back labor and they offerd me the epideral and i agreed but it really didnt seem that strong since i was not at ease at all. so good luck and think twice if you are going to use it.

Answer 7

Risks are small. The most obvious side effect is pain control. It has no effect on the baby and has been used for decades.

Answer 8

For one thing, you can't feel if or how hard you are pushing. It can cause nerve damage, sometimes permanent. It "drugs" the fetus which can cause problems but I don't remember what.

My wife did natural childbirth with only Stadol which basically just made her drunk and took the edge off. She could still feel the pain but it worked out fine.