i'm thinking about having an epidural ??

Question

ok .. so i'm "fat" with my 4 th child ( 17 weeks ) .. i had my first 3 "natural" no meds .. nada !! .. my last baby hurt like a bi_atch .. i'm thinking of having an epidural for my last child but my family is against it "they say u got pregnant so deal with the pain " ! but i seriously couldent handle my 3rd babies labor and delivery .. if you've had an epidural .. what were the side affects and would u do it again ??

Answer 1

for God's sake, get the epidural. i was induced and got the epidural early and slept through4 of my 7 hours of labor and was comfortable for the rest. they give you a shot of litocain (spelling?) which stings for maybe 10 minutes. after that, you are in heaven. i don't understand going through unnecessary pain. no bells and whistles go off for the women who do it naturally, no confetti falls from the ceiling. there are no harmful side effects to you or the baby. it's YOUR body that has to give birth to that baby, tell you family to mind their own business OR...simply tell them that you don't want anyone in the room except for your husband or friends who are on your side. then, no one has to know

Answer 2

Things can (and do) go wrong with epidurals even in the west -- since I have been pregnant, there have been 2 cases here in England. One where the woman was given the epidural in her HAND instead of her back (she was on an IV for strep B and they put the epidural drip into the IV by mistake, someone just wasn't paying attention) and she died. The other was a case where a miniscule drop of cleaning solution was on the needle that was used for the epidural and the woman has been paralyzed from waist down since. Either you are going to trust in the doctors or not -- it's a hard decision as things can go wrong -- but likely wouldn't. Keep in mind that if you decide you are 100% against an epidural and you have an emergency caesarean, you will most likely require one anyway. Best to keep an open mind about all forms of pain relief available because you don't know what you will want or need when the time comes.

Answer 3

Your family is wacky, but remember that each birth is different. There's no reason to assume that since your last one was painful this will be the same or worse. It may be as good as the first two or better. Was there anything different about the circumstances of your last labor? (for instance, an induced labor when the others had started naturally, or the baby facing a different way?) If so, I would think more about that and how to use what you've learned from past labors to make this one as smooth as possible and less about worst case scenerios. If you are worried, just make sure your are in a possition to get an epidural if you need one and wait to decide till then.

(You got pregnant so deal with the pain, what kind of anti-woman attitude is that?)

Answer 4

I had my first child by emergency C-Section and had to be completely put out, but I had my second child by c-section with an epidural and it was a breeze. They gave me the epidural and it began working immediately. I was awake while she was born and my recovery time was very fast. It wore off while I was in the recovery room and I didn't even have to take all of the pain medication from the staples. I say if you want to have one, then do it. You are the one going through the pain of the delivery. All of my sisters (two of them) had epidurals with all of their deliveries and none of them have ever suffered any complications. I do know, however, that I occasionally do feel a twinge at times at the epidural site, but I think that is quite normal. It's not a big deal, mainly when I'm sitting up very straight like when driving. If I move a certain way, I may feel a little twinge in my back. Yes, I would definitely have one again.

Answer 5

With my daughter I toughed out dialating to 5 centimeters before going to the hostpital. I'd decided ahead of time to get the epidural, getting it in was not fun (I won't lie), but as soon as the medicine hit my bloodstream I was way more relaxed, and was able to think about my baby and health, and not about the pain. With the second epidural it was actually painless and not at all uncomfortable (it went a lot smoother that time). Both times I felt discomfort in my shoulders and neck, it wasn't severe just uncomfortable, and some lower back pain after the epidural was removed. However, wasn't severe or last long. Some symptoms can be severe...
If you want more information on other symptoms that may occur, or information on how the procedure is done, visit this website:
http://www.webmd.com/hw/being_pregnant/tn9762-medinfo.asp

Answer 6

I had an epidural with my second child. Once they give you the shot (which is MUCH less painful than labor and well worth it) you feel like you are in heaven. No pain...just lie there and wait. The only problem I had was it wore off and by the time it did, the labor pains were quick and sharp. I didn't get to work up to it. But this was 30 years ago and they have improved so much. I say go with it. Why have pain when you don't have to? And spinals give you the chance for those awful headaches.

Answer 7

Years ago I had both my kids natural - - - the first was a 9+ pound boy. My body had time to adjust to the pain during the long labor. The second was a 7 pound girl - - - she came so fast that my body didn't have time to get used to the pain - - - I was already dilated to 5 when I went in to the hospital and then had to wait an hour for a labor room! So I suppose they wouldn't have had time to do anything for me anyway, because I had her within 30 minutes of getting in a room. The best thing is to plan ahead - - - if you have time during your labor, then I'd say yes, have an epidural. No need to suffer! But if you are already in a fast labor when you get to the hospital, you might want to have a Plan B - - - and see how it goes.

Answer 8

I had an epidural 8 years ago and would certainly not consider having one again. The side effects with me were, servere back pain for months after and i still suffer with back pain 8 years on. During the first few months after the injection, the pain, along with the stiffness were so bad that i was unable to get out of bed or out of a chair without someone helping me. However the injection affects different people in different ways. i would suggest discussing it with your midwife, doctor and family. But at the end of the day only you know your body and the best choice to make for you. hope this helps you somewhat, and good luck kafx

Answer 9

Talk with your doctor about epidural options. I had problems pushing with my first child because I couldn't feel a thing after the epidural. I was totally numb below the waist! Other than that, we had no problems.

I talked it over with my doctor for my second child, and she told me about walking or light epidurals (but they don't really let you walk around once you've had it). The medication is lighter than with a regular epidural. They don't use the spinal block, just the pain killer. I used this with my second child, and would definitely use this method of pain control again. My legs weren't numb like in my first labor, but the pain was relieved. I was able to feel and push with no pain. Our baby had no problems with it at all.

Unless your family is going to push this baby out by themselves, they need to let you do what you need to do.

Answer 10

No disrespect, but your family sounds wacky. Girl, get an epidural, they put it in when you are having a contraction, so you won't feel that much of it anyway,then less than an hour later you will be on cloud 9 and wonder why you didn't do it with your last 3 babies. Congratulations!!