Downside of an epidural??

Question

Delivered my first with Stadol and want to feel less dopey this time. What is the "dark side" of the epidural?? you know the gross things that the Dr. doesn't come right out and tell you. I know I will have a catheter (which doesn't make me happy) what else should I know?

Answer 1

1. The best way to help labor progress and to help the baby move down into the pelvis is to keep moving, moving, moving. Walk, get in the shower, lean over the bed and rock your pelvis. Change positions, get on your hands and knees. All of these things stimulate labor and aid in dilation and descent.
Once you have an epidural, you have very few options, as far as movement and positioning goes. If your labor slows down, there's nothing to do but use pitocin, or a c-section. Either one increases risks to you and your baby.

2. It can cause a drop in your blood pressure, which can decrease blood flow to the placenta and cause fetal distress. I have seen emergency c-sections happen because of this.

3. You most likely will not be able to urinate and will have to be catheterized. This increases risk of a urinary tract infection.

4. Some women find it harder to push effectively. A few are totally unable to push and have to have a c-section.

5. You will have to have continuous IV fluids, which can usually be avoided in a natural delivery.

6. Some women (not many) complain of back pain at the insertion site for years afterwards.

That's the downside.
An epidural can be great, when a woman is having complications in labor. For example, if she is having a long drawn out ordeal. When labor is progressing normally, it's best to avoid it.
And keep moving!!!

Answer 2

Well I just had a baby and I HAD to use the epidural. I was having difficulty breathing and My contractions were right after another. I had the epidural put in maybe 2-2.5 hours before I was going to deliver. You feel a sting in your lower back. It completely controls your contractions to the point where you dont feel it. When you push you also may not feel when your pushing. It seems like your pushing but nothing is happening. You feel absolutely nothing. The only thing you might feel is lower pressure when the baby is about to come out but other than that the epidural is safe. I'd recommend taking it during the last stages of the birth process. The only after effect might be lower back pain for a couple of days, but they usually give you motrin and/or vicodin when you leave the hospital. I used the epidural and I had a great experience. The other medications cause you to become drowsy and causes the baby to fall asleep which in some cases is not good because it drops the blood pressure as where the epidural you are awake throughout the entire process. I hope this information was good for you.

Answer 3

i had an epidural with both of mine, i had stadol with my second because the nurse told me i didn't need the epidural,(which i cussed her out for) the stadol was horrible!!!! its supposed to take the edge off the contractions but my contractions were so close and so long and in my back (the most painful) that it did nothing for me. to tell you the truth, i loved the epidural, the gross things youre talking about... well the doctors have seen it all so nothing suprises them, they didn't give me a catheter with my first and my bladder was full so when it came time to push oops i peed all over the table they gave me a catheter with my second and that was much smoother. they had me so doped up with the epidural that i couldn't feel a thing, including my legs and the pushing. i had two close friends hold my legs and a nurse had to feel my belly to tell me when i was contracting so i could push. i felt a tiny bit of pressure that was it and with 5 pushes my daughter was out. it was worth it! its really personal preference, i would put on your registration papers that you will accept the epidural if needed (just incase, if you don't put that they will not give you one!) you really won't know if you'll want one until youre in labor you could go in and wham 15 minutes later have the baby and not even have time for one but if youre in 10-15 hours of painful labor, you may want to try one, the worst it could do is not work. some say it slows down labor at some point well it didn't for either of mine, and i wanted a stress free delivery, remember the more tired you are and the more pain youre in the harder it will be to push and that will cause your little one to get stressed and possibly have a bowl movement or become in need of an emergency c-section. anyways... good luck!!! by the way im a whimp when it comes to needles, and i didn't feel anything but a relief after they did it i was induced with both of my girls so labor started hard with no breaks. the epidural was a gift from god at that point :)

Answer 4

my wife had epidurals for our 4 children. apart from the catheter in the back (I was asked to step out as they put it in), which gets removed pretty quickly after all is said and done, there is nothing. Normally they dose it carefully so that the mother can feel enough of her body to know when to push and to be able to control it well, but not feel (much) of the pain.

I was in the delivery room each time and never witnessed anything "gross".

What generally bothers women most is the fact that some feces or uring can be emitted as they start to push (which is why it is better for the husband to be close to the wife's head, rather than be filming) - this is not influenced by whether you had an epidural, or not.

Another big thing that bothers women (thinking about sex life after the birth) is when there is a need for an episiotomy. But again most episiotomies heal really well to the point of becoming nearly invisible - and they're much preferrable to taking the risk of having some tissues rip (and heal less well).

So as far as I know - not being a woman but having witnessed four births and having been in the room during the whole process i.e. for a few hours each time - there is no real downside to an epidural (apart from the fact that as always where a needle enters the body, there is a very small, but non-zero, risk of causing some injury).

good luck

Answer 5

You should know that until the baby's cord is cut it recieves all the same drugs you do. I'm assuming that you didn't drink while pregnant because you know what alcohol can do to a fetus. Remember how dopey you were last time you had an epidural? Your baby got the same dose you did! Epidurals can provide good pain relief, and I am NOT disparaging women who have chosen this, but women are rarely told the truth about them. Not only do they drug up the baby (these babies are usually blue at birth!), they can make labor longer because the drugs relax the muscles that you need to use to push.

I highly reccomend you look into hypnobirthing. You can seriously reduce your pain a hundredfold by simply training your mind and skipping the meds altogether.

Answer 6

I don't think their was a downsize. I planned on not having anything, but I was started on petocin and my contractions were so bad that I decided to do the epidural. The nurse didn't put my catheter in until after the epidural so I didn't feel anything. Ask them to do it after also. I didn't feel the epidural either. They put some numbing stuff on your back before they stick the needle in so if you have a good person you shouldn't feel it. A few minutes later I was a totally different laid back woman. I still had the urge to push when I needed to because the pain came back, only then it was actually bareable. Hope this helps. Good luck!

Answer 7

Forgot to mention this when I was extolling the virtues of epidurals in a response to an earlier questioner.

I had two killer back spasms, one a day after delivery, one two days after that, both at the point where the epidural was inserted. Actually made me gasp and weep (mostly out of utter surprise -- never felt anything like it before). But other than that, no other dark side to report. I'm deeply enthusiastic about epidurals, even with the spasms. Best of luck.

Answer 8

With my first child the antsiest missed on the first stick and I had a spinal fluid leak which caused a God awful headache for about 2 weeks post delivery. I had to return to the hospital every other day to get a blood patch which is when they withdraw blood from your arm and reenter it into the epidural site to help patch the leak. It was not the ideal epidural experience but I have had successful epidurals since and plan on one this time as well.

Answer 9

I had an epidural with my daughter and the after affects were horrible! All the pain hit me at once it was almost unbearable! I didn't get to be with my daughter for hours after her birth because I had to wait for the epidural to completely wear off. Plus I had sharp pains in my back for at least 2 year's after. I still have some problems even know day's (5 almost 6 years later). When I have my next baby I'm going natural! It's really a personal decision thou! Good luck with your decision!

Answer 10

I didn't have any negative experience with my epidural except that I was told that I would be able to sleep and I didn't. I don't know if that was due the epi, or the light that the nurse wouldn't shut off.
Yes, you will have a catheter but that isn't so bad. And the epi will be turned off when it is time to push. Mine actually ran out by that time and boy, did I know when to push!