what makes an epidural not work?

Question

i have read that for some women an epi does not work, why is this?

Answer 1

Incorrect placement due to user error would be the most common culprit. Women moving is a copout answer and can't be used for blame, considering that a woman is supposed to sit still, curled over, while having major contractions that apparently hurt enough to get an epidural in the first place. If the doc can't put it in right, it's a problem with the doc, not the woman.

It's pretty common for complications to arise surrounding the epidural, though. High blood pressure (that's why they start the IV) that can cause problems for the baby if you labor for very long after the epidural is adminstered (the clock starts ticking once you get it). Epidurals slow down labor as it is, so you're more likely to be given pitocin to augment your natural contractions. You can't feel it, but they are harder on your baby and don't allow him/her to get as much oxygen as needed and as would have been given with natural contractions. Then, because you have a hard time getting into an upright position with your butt off the ground/bed to push, you're more likely to have an instrumental delivery and be cut open unnecessarily. Not to mention that you're more likley to have a cesarean because of the above side effects of epidurals (high bp, slow labor, medications, trouble pushing).

All this for some pain relief? No thanks. I'd rather deal with the intermittent pain of labor for my baby's health. I do think that everyone is different, however, and that some labors are more painful than others, that augmented labors are more painful, that OP presenting babies make for more painful labors, etc. I still think that women can handle it.

I can't remember the author of this quote but it's one of my absolute favorites right now:
"There is a secret in our culture and it is not that birth is painful, it is that women are strong."

Answer 2

I'm not really sure why an epidural wouldn't work however, I didn't have that good of an experience with it.
When I got my epidural it only numbed one side of my body... on the other side I could still feel everything and the contractions were awful!! After a while the nurse call the anesthesiologist back in to let her know it was only effective on one side of my body and she first tried to just pull it out a little bit. That didn't do anything so she had to take it out and do it all over again. The second time it was done when she was administering the medication it made my blood pressure drop so low (80/40) that I started vomiting. However, it worked after that.
You should know though that it is very uncommon for something like that to happen and for an epidural to not work at all.

Answer 3

Usually it is caused by four things. An inexperienced anethesiologist, a woman with some anomoly in her back, bad placement or not enough medication.

My spinal didn't take and I had to have general. Back Xray since then doesn't show anything specifically wrong. Next time I would get an epi. While they can attempt an epi placement several times, they don't normally do that with a spinal.

Answer 4

Some women just have a naturally higher tolerance for drugs then others, causing epidurals not to work.

It also depends on proper placement of the epidural -- between vertebrae -- which depends on the skill of the person administering it. Placing it in the wrong area, even a little, likely means it will not be as effective. However, they give you a "test dose" most times to ensure this doesn't happen.

Epidurals are also controllable. If you find that you are not receiving enough pain medication, you can ask for the level of anesthetic to be raised. Usually, as long as you aren't close to pushing, this can be done.

Answer 5

My wife just having delivered our brand new bouncing baby boy on July 9, based on our childbirth classes, I think the answer could be any one of the answers you already have. However, the epi goes between the several layers of membrane that covers the spine, not between the vertibrae.

Moving could affect placement, amount of anesthesia, and tolerance to drugs all could make a difference.

Answer 6

hope this helps... my worked but an hour before i had to push it stop working they gave me more and it still didnt work then they gave me a different medicine through my iv and it still didnt work. afterwards the doctor told me something about there being somekind of block and the epidural doesnt get to certain nerves

Answer 7

the process is to inject a numbing agent into your spine, numbing the lower body. if the person has a high tolerance for pain killers, it may not work well, if the tube isnt threaded in far enough, if it pulled out. or if its just done too late.

Answer 8

Mine didnt work bc my labor progressed very quickly and the meds didnt keep up with it. Also I had back labor and it typically doesnt work in that case

Answer 9

they may have moved while it was going in and made the needle go in the wrong place