Should I get an epidural again?

Question

I am due tomorrow and the doctor will not let me go past the 15th of this month so I know that within the next 9 days for sure my son will be born and I am now having such great anxiety regarding getting the epidural done again. I had it with my first two but now have access to the computer full time and looked up the downside to having an epidural and there is soooo many. I was wondering if anyone has had severe complications with and epidural or know of anyone who has????? I have never had natural childbirth and although for years and years woman do it I am not sure if I can handle the severity of the pain childbirth causes!!

Answer 1

I had 2 births with big babies and no pain meds. I understand your concern, and apprehension however in my opinion it is too late in the game to gear up for a med free delivery.
It takes a great deal of commitment, energy and mental focus to deliver with out meds. If you have a Strong constitution then I suggest weighing out your anxiety levels; which is worse?
There is no doubt in my mind that you could do it - especially now knowing the downside of pain meds, but it takes a great deal of internal strength. Its not a whimsical 'oh, I'll give it a whirl" situation.
One lady I know had a numb leg for nearly six months after giving birth and having an epidural.
One of my friends never intended to have a natural birth!! But, due to rapid labor ended up not having a choice - with tears in here eyes she told me that not having that pain relief was the best thing that happened in her birth experience.
Ive known several women who did not have any pain relief and most all of us, at some point in our labors, asked for it. Usually it was too late and in the end we were all grateful that it was!

Answer 2

I did it naturally 3 times. As far as I have heard, they don't give you the epidural until you are at a certain point. By that point you have experienced most of the pain. When you get to the pushing stage, you pain will be a lot less. Pushing actually relieves the pain of contractions. As far as the perineal pain of crowning, the pressure numbs the area naturally, so you really only feel pressure and maybe some burning sensation. That is why they don't need anesthesia to do an episiotomy. I definitely recommend going natural. Then you have no anesthesia to recover from, you can just enjoy your first hours with your baby.

Answer 3

So see how it goes. Try natural, but have the nurse keep you informed of your time window that an epidural is still a possibility. I had an epidural with my first delivery. I was very happy that it didn't screw up my back. But the epidural was a bad one, and I decided I'd not go through that again (fear of needles too). So my 2nd and 3rd children were born natural, with a bit of IV meds to take the edge off. I hate pain as much as the next person, but I was determined to try natural. For me it was a much better experience and I was mobile and more lucid before and after the birth. My 4th child will be natural too. As much as labor hurts, my fear of an epidural gone bad makes me happy with my choice.

Answer 4

hi there,

I was against an epidural because of research I did, however my blood pressure was through the roof during pregnancy, and when i was induced, the labour wasnt progressing so they were on the verge of bringing me down for a c-section. I reluctantly agreed to the epidural after 18 hours of "sticking it out". the labour started to progress better, it controlled the blood pressure and I had her vaginally*thank God*. If i ended up with a C-section, i would have had to get the epidural anyway!! My suggestions. Go as long as you can tollerate it, and then dont feel like a failure if you have to give in and get the epidural. You can also take advantage of the other types of pain killers available during labour, like the gas, demerol.

That's my plan when i go into labour this time,due feb 3, but blood pressure problems again may cause me to be induced early.

Answer 5

There's other pain medications to take IV method. I birthed all 4 of my kids without and epidural because I fear something in my spine. I plan to birth baby #5 without an epidural as well. Ask your doctor about the pain medicine given through Iv. I can't think of the name right now.

Answer 6

That is a tough decision. The majority of women I know that did it the old fashion way say it wasn't as bad as they feared. I think it might also have to do with mental preparation. My best friend didn't recieve her epidural in time and did the whole thing natural, she was pissed, but recovered faster. She had had it for the first two.

If things get bad, your doctor will/should recommend it for you even if you haven't elected for it.

There can be complications but its now considered low risk.

Good Luck.

Answer 7

If you have not been through the pain you might want to try it there is nothing like it. I have had children both ways and with the epidural I remember more of what was going on around me. I was in so much pain with out med that I blocked it all out.

Answer 8

Ask your doctor ... the benefits far outweigh the risks. Your ob/gyn will not do anything bad to you, especially if you ask a lot of questions. Of course you can handle the pain of natural childbirth, but why would you want to? Don't trust everything you google.

Good luck!!!!

Answer 9

just keep telling yourself that you can handle and you'll be fine. i was determined to do it natural as well for my first but after 30 hours of labor and no sleep i couldn't handle it. that's the only reason i got the epidural. everything went well, no adverse side effects. no one told me that there could be really dangerous things happen to me so i wasn't as scared as i could have been. just tell yourself you'll be okay and that you can do it. you'll be fine.

Answer 10

Yes, there are dangerous POSSIBLE side effects. But, those are about as possible as having the side effects from taking the recommended dosage of aspirin. They happen, but not very often. So, don't worry about taking it...you've had it 2x already, you know how you react!

Good luck and congrats!