Should I use an epidural?

Question

I think I am more scared of an epidural than actually giving birth. Are there any of you who have had an epidural or other kind of drug to help them cope with the pains of labor and could you please describe your experience.

Answer 1

The hospital will have it available. No need to stress out about it until the time comes. When that time comes you'll make a pretty quick decision based on how you are personally able to handle the pain.

Answer 2

It really depends on who you are and how you take pain. The pain hurts like no other pain there is. It feel worse than your cramps you may get when you get your period. I had my first child last year. Everyone tells you oh this is your first baby you will be in labor for hours maybe a day or two. I had a friend that went into labor just 20 minutes after her baby shower and was in labor for two days(sat/sun and had the baby monday morning), my next door neighbor had her baby in about 5 hours and then my friend her water broke the day after her baby shower and she was fully dialated 2 hours after she got to the hospital. My wate rwas leaking then fully broke and i had contraction every 5minutes . i didnt start off with the little minor ones, i had the ones that hurt really bad that i was trying to ball up in a knot. iwas having them when they had to give me the IV and the epidural. After i got the epidural i felt 100% free of pain. i did feel the pressure on my bottom that's nothing. But like i said it depends on who you are and how well you deal with pain. I know a couple people that didnt have any pain medicine. The recover is probably faster but you will steal feel pain and you will get some pain medicine after wards, it wont be a epidural but it will be probably something that will work well. Do what you think you can handle, not what someone else says. It is your body you are the one that is going to have to get the baby out and you are the one that is going to have the after pain. But at the end all that will not matter once you see that precious baby face and know that all the pain and whatever you went through all thoses months of using the bathroom all hours of night was worth it. I would do it all over again. I would love to have another one in a year or two.

Answer 3

Hi! I have to admit that I was afraid at first of having an epidural also. But after several hours of hard labor I finally asked for one. This is what happens. The anesthesiologist comes in and will tell you about every thing that he is going to do. He will ask you if you have any questions about it and answer them. You then sign a release form . It begins by having your back draped with a cloth and then cleaned with an antiseptic. They will then have you bend forward to curl your spine.Next they will numb the area. It feels like a large bee sting. He will next test to see if the area is numb if it is he will proceed with the epidural. He will then insert a small line into your back that will feed the medicine. You will feel none of this (maybe just a slight weirdness but no PAIN). Soon the procedure will be done! The first shot of medicine is cold going through but Boy is it welcome! You will then feel your lower half and legs get tingly and heavy after a while. I am so glad that I had this done I was then able to enjoy the birth of my baby! I was not screaming and crying through the whole thing! 3 babies later and I now know to ask for the magic man. Ask your O.B. if you have any questions or concerns they can help a lot. Good Luck!

Answer 4

I dont want to scare you but trust me on this one, When the pain gets bad enough to ask for a epidural you will not feel the epidural being put in. All you want is relief from the pain.
Most of the time you are numbed around the area that the needle will be placed so you really feel nothing.
With my last labor however, they used a drug in my IV to make me feel really loopy for about 2 mins.so they could put my epidural in place. I could have cared less if they had hit me in the head with a hammer after that. :)
The loopy feeling only lasted for about a minute and half to two minutes and then all the pain was gone and I could relax the rest of my labor.

Epidurals are safe and you should really not be scared. I have had 4 in the last 6 years, I couldnt imagine giving birth without one.
After you have your baby it takes a few hours to be able to move your legs again, and you may have some sensitivity in the area where the needle was placed for a few weeks but other than that, have no worries hun. It will be fine.

Answer 5

I had one before my cesarean. I was scared too about getting a needle in my spine. They numb the area, so it really wasn't that bad. My spine isn't quite straight due to having scleroderma as a kid, so when they put the tube in, it went off center a little, and It burned all the way down my hip.

I SHRIEKED a lot. I was terrified, and probably drove the doctors crazy! And I can assure you that all that shrieking was due to FEAR. I am a nervous person and had an anxiety attack in the hospital after the birth too. Most women do just fine with epidurals, and I promise you I completely overreacted.

Labor is different. I would imagine that going through labor will be painful, and by the time they give you the epidural, you will WELCOME it with open arms.

First births are difficult. I never opened...that is why they had to do the cesarean. My little sister has had 4 kids, and her 5th baby was born, she didn't even get an epidural. It just came right out!!!!

Since this is your first baby, I expect that your fear will determine your pain/anxiety level. Make sure you take a childbirth class. That helps a lot with fear. Remind yourself throughout labor to be calm, and that your fear is normal.

Good luck!

Answer 6

I had one. Through my whole pregnancy I knew Id get one cuz I couldnt be convinced that a needle would hurt more then having to push out a 8ish lb. baby. When the time came to get the epidural tho I was scared. My water broke and the nurse told me that I was about to be in alot of pain but I didnt care I was just scared of the needle so I said not yet. Then like 5 minutes later I called her begging for the epidural cuz it hurt so bad. Most of my friends who have had babies told me how a nurse was there to hold them still durning the epidural, well I was in so much pain that they didnt have to hold me at all. In fact they told me to move over a few inches to get in the right spot and I could barely do that. It did hurt for like a second but thats it, then all the pain was gone. Looking back Id say it even felt good compared to the amount of pain I was in. Also I want to add that I was induced and the nurse explained that it actually makes the contractions stronger then normal. Anyways I ended up being in labor for only 6 hours and I slept through 4 of them, I woke up and pushed for 2 hours then it was all over. :-) If I ever have another baby Id get another epidural.

Also I did get some other pain medi that they put in through my iv before I was feeling the real pain, I thought it was the real pain but it was not. That pain medi just made be feel just drugged up and I was talking like I was drunk and I couldnt think straight. It also didnt even help with the pain.
I would not get those drugs again tho. I dont remember what they are called, sorry.

Answer 7

With my first child I had an Epidural..I couldn't stand the pain of contractions so I decided to have it...Yes it looks very scary, I have seen people get them on tv and stuff before i got mine and I was scared shitless to get one...but when I got it I was already in alot of pain So it didnt hurt getting it at all!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The IV hurt more then that lol....I guess it would be different for everyone, BUt for me I was laying on my side too much so only one side of me froze, So in other words I STILL Felt it!!!!!
They make you sign a form that if anything goes wrong that it isnt their fault...I guess at the time you dont really care, but once you think about it ..that's pretty scary ****.
After the birth I wasn't able to see my baby in the nursery for 3 hours until the drug wore off and I was able to walk again. It's been almost 6 years since I have givin birth to my son and I still have back problems because of the epidural. So with this baby due in another 3 months, I don't think I will get another one.
This doesnt mean that everyone will have complications with an epidural...it did help alot! But its just something to really think about:)
good luck with everything I wish you the best

Answer 8

If you have a short labor, your doctor will probably not give you an epidural because you really won't need it. Labor will be over before they can make all of the arrangements to actually give it to you.

Even if you have a long labor, you may have to ask for pain medication if you want it. No one else knows your pain level and what you can tolerate.

Some IV pain medications can make you spacey and/or sleepy. An epidural doesn't do that. It doesn't really hurt to get an epidural although different women handle the medication differently. During a difficult delivery, the pain relief an epidural will bring is very welcome.

Answer 9

My first child I did not have an epidural or a spinal, my second two I did. I did not want one with my first because I was like you more scared of the epidural then of labor. I got over that. I was in labor for a long time with my oldest and when it came time to push I was to tired and could not do it and they had to use forceps to get him out. With a spinal or epidural I could rest and when it was time to push it was much easier. Ever labor is different you might sail through it and not even want one. Just remember a healthy mom and baby is the only thing that is really important. Good luck and congratulation.

Answer 10

I had an epidural with both pregnancies and do plan on having another with this one also. I waited as long as I could but it really does hurt. Some women can do it I couldnt. It doesnt make you any less of a woman if you use drugs and sometimes it can SPEED up delivery because it allows your body to relax and the baby to come further down the canal. Be aware they dont always work. My first worked like a charm and the second had no effect, but I will still try it again in a few weeks.

Answer 11

I have 2 kids. I had my first completely natural. I son't know what to say to discribe it to you other than it hurt so bad that I was apparently saying I want my mom over and over again. My mom passed away when I was very little. so what I am saying is that for me it was so painful that I wasn't making much sence. I had a long 12 hr. labor and the contractions were painful. If you are a strong person and feel you want to do it natural do it, but be prepared for pain. I mean women have had babies natural for centeries. I tell you though at every doc. appt. whith my second pregnancy, I made sure the doc. had in my chart that I wanted an epideral, and the local before the epideral. I got both. The thing that I thought was better for me about this choice is that the local took the edge off the increasingly painful contractions and I was not nearly as scared and misserable in pain, I felt more excited . Then the epideral when the contractions became to much, I don't have issues with getting shots. For me having had a natural labor, the thought of having the epideral was VERY mild to the though of having another natural labor. For me it was BRING ON THE EPIDERAL!!!!!! When they were putting it in I just relaxed as much as I could so my muscles wouldn't be tense and made sure and never looked at the needle, I also sort of hummed to myself. It did not hurt worse that a bee sting probubly less. honestly I don't even remember how it felt, but I do remember having a natural birth and that pain. It is really a personal decision, if you are unsure tell your nurses and doctors that you are not sure and you may decide that you want one but you want to see how you handle the contractions and go from there. Make sure you tell them though to let you know before you are to far dialated to get an epideral because then there is no turning back and that is exactly why and how I had my first completely natural. I was to faar dialated. Good luck to you and a healthy happy beautiful birth and baby. There is no other feeling on this earth like the first time you lay eyes on your baby, it is magic and NOTHING ,NOTHING compares to that moment. Enjoy every moment!!!!!!!