Epidural? is it safe to get an epidural and what are the side effects of it? Do u recommend ?

Question

Hi i m 36.3 weeks pregnant, its first baby boy and i m not sure if epidural is a good choice.

Answer 1

well i was in labour for 24 hours and i eventually had an epidural which was the best thing i ever did.i had no side effects although they did warn me it could cause back pain in later life.but dont be sure they will even give you one,i literally had to beg for one as they were short on anaethetists.the poor girl next to me was refused one.

Answer 2

An epidural is the only thing that can stop the pain "if it works correctly, as not all do" it may need topping up every so often. If it does not work correctly then the anaesthetitist can just re-site another one.

When having the epidural sited you will need to sit still, whilst curling around your belly. This can be difficult when contractions are occuring, just tell the anaesthetist when a contraction is coming and they will stop what they are doing and wait for it to go "remember you still have to sit still"

You should not feel pain when they are siting the epidural as they numb the area before hand, if you do feel pain when they are siting it ask them to numb you some more. As they go into the correct area you will feel an electric shock down your one leg, this is normal.

If you have a raised BMI, it can make it more difficult, as the anaesthetist needs to be able to feel your spine for the correct position. If the anaesthetist can't feel your spine they will take an educated guess for the correct position, if their guess is wrong they will attemp again.

Yes there can be side effects but the major ones are rare, more common are bad headaches afterwards which they can fix by siting another epidural and inserting blood into the area this is called a blood patch.

What they don't tell you is that after you have had an epidural you will not be able to pass urine so they will insert a catheter which will be removed once the epidural has worn off. You will have a venflon sited into the back of your hand and be connected up to a drip. The other arm will be connected to a blood pressure machine as the epidural can drop your blood pressure and therefore effect the baby, if this happens they will increase the fluids in your drip, or worse case they will give you medication to boost your heart rate if your blood pressure drops dangerously low. Also the baby will be constantly monitored with an CTG machine around your belly.

When it comes to pushing the epidural increases the chance of requiring a forceps delivery as it can be difficult to push as you can't feel anything. Epidurals do not increase the chances of a caesarean section

Speak to an anaesthetist when you go into labour they will tell you the risks and the chances of these occuring. At some point during the labour, the majority of women will request an epidural, there can be a delay if the anaesthetist is busy in theatre or siting an epidural elsewhere. It may even be too late as your baby may be well and truely on its way.

If you do choose to have an epidural don't be too hard on yourself, labour is the most painful experience that you are likely to experience, but remember the pain will stop and you will be getting the best present of all at the end of it.

Good luck and I hope your labour is quick and easy for you.

Answer 3

32 year old mother of 4. I have had 1 epidural and chose the pain route instead for other 3, because of back pain, also it can prolong birthing process, it is hard to push out a baby when you can't feel what in the heck to push. I don't think it's a good choice just because of back pain later in life. Also, you also get bragging rights, be tough!!! If you walk a lot when you start to go into labor especially stairs it will help tremendously, helping the baby down the birth canal on its own, will take you to a way faster push him-out session. GOOD-LUCK.

Answer 4

Everyone is different - I've had 2 children already and I had an epidural with both. For me it was a god send - I felt very calm and even had a sleep once it kicked in which helped!! The down side is the numbness after i felt like i could walk but when i went to get up it took about 3 hours for my legs to actually feel the floor!! It also takes a while to wee as you have to wait for the feeling to return - but overall I'd say it was worth having!!

Answer 5

I was in labor for 38 hours and eventually got one and it didn't really work well. When I got it put in it stung and then was really uncomfortable while they were pushing the needle in. I could still feel my legs when I got it and it just felt like when your legs fall asleep (like that tingly feeling.) It completely wore off after about 45 minutes and then I was in a lot of pain! I eventually got a spinal block, which was heaven! I felt nothing after I got it (but getting it hurt a lot...worse than and epidural, which hurt also!) I've had a lot of back pain (which I'm not sure if it was because of the spinal or epidural) but it's not that bad.

Good luck, I would still recommend it, even though it didn't work great for me, it's different for everyone.

Answer 6

It is a good choice if you want to be medicated. It is the best choice for blocking the pain and still remembering the birth. I would recommend not using anything for pain
but this is not easy so you'd need to hire a doula (labor support person). It is actually better for you and the baby but not as easy for the doctor. Look into it, a natural birth without medication of any kind can be a wonderful experience. Hard? yes, painful? of course.
Worth every moment of it! Very fulfilling, exhilerating. Much faster recovery. Much more alert baby because he/she isn't drugged up. Your baby also won't lose weight after birth because she won't be pumped up with
sugar water because you don't have to have the drip going if you aren't getting medicated. Good luck with your new baby whatever you decide!

Answer 7

I've just had my first child and I had no pain releif at all. It annoys me to read "You MUST have an epidural" - thats crap! Yes it hurts like hell but my labour was quick and simple and I had no side effects from anaesthetic, no tears, stitches etc.

Epidurals can slow your labour down, cause drop in blood pressure, headaches, vomiting and back pain. Its basically morphine being injected directly into your spine.

The pain was really bad (my waters had gone and my son was pressing on my back) and at one point in my labour I probably would have welcomed an epidural but as I was giving birth in a midwife led centre they weren't available and I'm really glad now I didn't have one as I went from 1.5cm to 10cm dilated in just 4 hours! Anaesthetics tend to slow down your labour.

It really is up to you to choose what you feel is best for you at the time, but please don't think that you "have" to have an epidural - I'm living proof that you can do it without!

Answer 8

they are excellent however they dont tend to top it up right at the end when you need to push, there tends not to be side effect although when i had my twins i had to have it 'just incase' of an emergency the anaesthetist put it in the wrong place and it hurt down one side of my leg it ended up i had my son naturally and then when it came to my daughter being born they had to give me a general anaesthetic for a c section as it became an emergancy, had the epidural worked i wouldnt of needed it.however i had epidural with my first daughter and it was bliss and was a good choice

Answer 9

i had to have an epidural for a retained placenta and it did'nt hurt getting the injection into the spine as they put local anaesthetic gel on your back first.As far as i know there is no side-effects from it apart from slight bruising on the site of injection and you go numb from the waist down for a good few hours.It feels really weird like someone is sitting on your legs.Why an epidural?gas and air is just as good.

Answer 10

I had an epidural but did not find it effective at all, i felt all the pains. I kept begging for more and they kept topping up but it did not help me at all. Eventually it made me vomit. I do now suffer with lower back ache every now and again.

But I have heard stories of it working wonders so maybe it'll be alright for you.