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June 2011 Moms
JayElleJayCee
member
What is your hospital rule on drugs??
JayElleJayCee
member
I have seen two birth stories about missing a window for epi's.
When I went to my class - the head nurse at the hospital said that (at least at my hospital) there is no such thing as a "missed window" for an epidural. Apparently my hopsital will give me an epi ANY time during labor. She said that if I wanted to wait until right before pushing that they would give me it to me.
Is this just my hospital?? I'm just curious because the thought of pushing out a baby without an epi makes me shudder...lol. I don't know what I would do if I couldn't have one.
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Re: What is your hospital rule on drugs??
I don't know that they have a window of when you can get it or not at my hospital. My cousin (who delivered at the same birthing center as I am) got one and fifteen minutes later the baby was out of her. I guess it all depends on how fast you're progressing and whether they'll tell you how much further you have and let you decide. Then, depending on what there is for a wait list/doc to administer the EPI, you may have to wait and could have delivered by the time it's ready. My cousin was just finishing transition when she got hers and had she known that the worst was pretty much over, she wouldn't have gotten it. But she didn't know she was that far progressed and thought she'd still have a ways to go before the baby was born.
I hope that if I'm that close and I tell them I want one, they'll let me know that I'm almost done and let me decide whether I think I can handle it for just a little longer or whether I'm at my breaking point..
When i found out I was GBS positive and was annoyed at the fact that I had to do the whole IV antibiotic thing- she informed me that I will already be hooked up to an IV regardless because of the whole "no eating during labor" and in case of an emergency for other meds.
I can't remember what the MW said at the antenatal class about when they won't give it to you, but she did say they "turn it" down (Sorry I can't think of the right phrasing at the moment) before you start pushing. So basically you get a few hours of Pain free then you have to push.
Def helped cement in my mind the fact that I still don't want one.
This is the same for my hospital too!
if i was going natural, i can't say that i would personally wait that long for the epi. you never know how long it's going to take, and you could end up having to push and feel everything, and then be numb after...
i do know they lessen the affect of the epi while pushing because they need you to feel some of it. they lower it so you can feel the push, but not the pain.
according to this article it can be done as long as the baby isn't crowning, but like i said, you never know how long it's going to take...
https://pregnancy.about.com/od/epidurals/qt/epiduralwindow.htm
Our anesthesiologist we met with at the hospital said he would give it to me all the way until 10cm, but that if we do that we run the risk of the anesthesiologist not being available and not being able to get to us in time. If they get called in to administer meds for a c-section or they're with another patient, you could get to transition and at that point it doesn't make sense (you can't still enough for them to even put it in if you're pushing!)
As for them turning it down, our hospital has it on a button like morphine patients, where you can push the button every so often and administer more meds. He recommended using it enough to keep your pain level at a constant 1 or 2, not hitting it so many times that you're at 0. Because 0 pain means 0 feeling, so you can't push. He said if you can still feel enough to push they won't take it away from you
My hospital will give you something for the pain right up until you push. However, I think that if you are 9-10 they might just give you a spinal.....I'm not sure though.
[My Decorating Blog]
I'm pretty surprised by this too just because I know a few people who "didn't have time" for an epi because they progressed so quickly. One of MH's friend's entire labor this past Feb was only 3 hrs!! Lucky lady, huh?
Anyway I think if you were that lucky you wouldn't care about missing it (she didn't) and if you're not that lucky, you'll def have time for your epi.
agreed. If you walk in at 1 cm they will give you an epi? I would then immediately want to know what their c-section rate is.
The idea of getting an epi right before pushing makes me shudder. I can't imagine doing that without being able to feel at least a little bit of what's going on.
Mine started to wear off a couple of hours before my son was born, and when I asked the nurse to have it topped off again, she suggested I let it be so I could push more effectively. I'm really glad I took her advice and I think it's a big part of why I only had to push for 45 minutes.