September 2011 Moms

No epidural and not by choice. Encouragement needed!

Last night in my maternity classes we discussed labor. I'm having my baby here in Colombia, South America and although medical care is extremely good here, there are many differences from the states and how I always envisioned labor to be. I got the biggest shock last night in my class. I found out, they don't give you an epidural! You can buy it and bring it with you and they will put it in but they highly recommend you deliver without one and it is quite pricey to buy, it sounds like. Plus I worry that maybe they are not as experienced with epidural births since they are not commonly used. 

So now I am very curious about the subject. I know I need to do a lot of research but there is just so much information to read about the subject.  I need encouragement. The only thing making me feel better is to think how many woman deliver here without one each day and they survive. The other big difference is that DH might not even be allowed in the delivery room with me, it will just depend on the staff on duty that night, so I can't count on him as a coach. I'm scared!!!

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Re: No epidural and not by choice. Encouragement needed!

  • Where in Colombia are you?  That's where we are from and everyone I know has had an epidural!

    ....and about DH not being able to be in the room with you, I know that all of my girlfriends significant others were there in the room with them, because the dad is the one that makes sure the baby does NOT leave anyones sight.

    I'm over here in the states, so I could be wrong, but according to friends/family this is what I know.  What area of Col are you in?  Could it be that particular hospital? 

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  • Im lurking, sorry.

     

    You might head over to the natural birth board for some encouragement. :)

    Good luck and I hope you find your encouragement.

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  • Oh my, that is a lot to take on. If I were you I would try to embrace what has been given to you. Maybe look into some different methods of going med free such as hypnobirthing or the Bradley Method. This way you will seem prepared and ready for situation at hand. I would be nervous to purchase an epi as well if they aren't as commonly used where you are located. Hopefully by educating yourself you can be put more at ease with it all.
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  • What?!  BYOE?!  That's crazy. I'm from Costa Rica and they don't make you buy it, from what my cousins have told me.  Do they have a person that knows how to insert an epidural?  I don't blame you for being scared. Is there someone at the hospital you can talk to, like a counsler or something?
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  • I'm in Bucaramanga and my EPS is Salud Coop. .I've been asking my coworkers this morning and they all say they didn't have one either. 

     

    imageLupeVallejo:

    Where in Colombia are you?  That's where we are from and everyone I know has had an epidural!

    ....and about DH not being able to be in the room with you, I know that all of my girlfriends significant others were there in the room with them, because the dad is the one that makes sure the baby does NOT leave anyones sight.

    I'm over here in the states, so I could be wrong, but according to friends/family this is what I know.  What area of Col are you in?  Could it be that particular hospital? 

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  • imageglobalwife:

    I'm in Bucaramanga and my EPS is Salud Coop. .I've been asking my coworkers this morning and they all say they didn't have one either. 

     

    imageLupeVallejo:

    Where in Colombia are you?  That's where we are from and everyone I know has had an epidural!

    ....and about DH not being able to be in the room with you, I know that all of my girlfriends significant others were there in the room with them, because the dad is the one that makes sure the baby does NOT leave anyones sight.

    I'm over here in the states, so I could be wrong, but according to friends/family this is what I know.  What area of Col are you in?  Could it be that particular hospital? 

    Oh and supposedly since DH is taking the class, he "might" be allowed in. We are going to play the "gringa card" and pretend I don't know much Spanish in hopes they will allow him in but the truth is he isn't sure he wants to be there.  

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  • imageglobalwife:
    imageglobalwife:

    I'm in Bucaramanga and my EPS is Salud Coop. .I've been asking my coworkers this morning and they all say they didn't have one either. 

     

    imageLupeVallejo:

    Where in Colombia are you?  That's where we are from and everyone I know has had an epidural!

    ....and about DH not being able to be in the room with you, I know that all of my girlfriends significant others were there in the room with them, because the dad is the one that makes sure the baby does NOT leave anyones sight.

    I'm over here in the states, so I could be wrong, but according to friends/family this is what I know.  What area of Col are you in?  Could it be that particular hospital? 

    Oh and supposedly since DH is taking the class, he "might" be allowed in. We are going to play the "gringa card" and pretend I don't know much Spanish in hopes they will allow him in but the truth is he isn't sure he wants to be there.  

    I'm from Medellin, and my cousins both definitely got one, because I remember asking when I became pregnant and for like 3 seconds of my life thought I would do it natural.  (I changed my mind really quick).  It could be the area you're in, but if you're not comfortable with the whole BYOE thing, I don't blame you!!!  Look into holistic methods, because lets face it... they've been goin natural since the beginning of time, and the natives always have their "special trick" to help with everything.

    One thing I will tell you is that all of my friends/family who have delivered babies ANYWHERE in North, Central OR South America have all had the father in the room with them.  If they take the baby out of the room, the father goes with the baby, NO MATTER WHAT.  

    If you can't tell, I am beyond paranoid of someone switching or stealing my baby.  I hope you feel some relief in your co-workers doing it natural... and if not, that's why we are here for you!!!!! 

    Use that gringa card all you want!!! ...chances are, the staff will be so in awe that you speak english, they'll let you get away with almost anything. hahaha, the blonde hair does it for me. ;)

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  • hey, when I had my daughter, I was scared of the epidural. I did it without one. So when I had my son, I figured I went without the first time, so why bother and I went again without one.  So pregnant with #3 I plan on not having one again. The idea still scares me of them. I know there's millions of women who have them but I have had severe allergic reactions to preservatives in medication so the less intervention for me, the better.  I would LOVE effective labor pain relief, but my fear is realistic :)

    So I am saying, if you can't have one, you'll be fine. I found my labor went very quickly and I felt in control of it because I could feel everything.

    GL!

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  • I don't know if it's going to be helpful at all but I went without epidural or any meds and also my husband was with me during the labor but not in the room for the pushing. I didn't even study a special "method" but did prepare myself with relaxation and visualization techniques. I thought going without epidural was great. It went much faster than for most women I know and I was able to get up and take a shower within hours. Felt amazing. The next day I felt almost totally normal. Also I honestly didn't care about DH not being the room - the nurses were great in coaching me. I liked having him around for the earlier labor since I would have been a bit bored otherwise ;) Also for what it's worth most of my cousins have gone med-free and many didn't have husbands in the room (Russian men are much more freaked out by the birth process than the more advanced American counter-parts:) 

    Check out the natural board. There is lots of great stories and suggestions there. 

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  • Definitely check out the natural birth board.  While epidurals are pretty much standard in the US, they aren't in many other places ... birth can definitely be accomplished without one!

    I went natural with DS, and while it was definitely painful ... it was completely managable (enough to do it again).  Just prepare ahead of time.  I think that going in mentally ready for natural birth makes all the diffference.

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  • You can do it without one!! I had my first delivery without one, my second with one and my third without one because I refused it. I'm not going to lie and have butterflies floating by your bedside. Labor is intense and painful. Let me put it this way though, you are in labor for a short time to maybe 30+ hours. You are in recovery for 6 weeks or more. Which would you rather be in pain for?? I learned this the hard way. I think having more options is great but also it's a mind set that we grow up with too. We have all these things readily available but can definitely do without them. The epidural was great for the hour I used it. Honestly its pricey, the insert isn't painful but the back pain after (some women have it and some don't) was worse then the labor itself and was ongoing up until I delivered DS#3!! If it isn't an option there, I'd look into something that can help with relaxing. I feel that the epidural is just a way to relax. I found music a great help while in labor with ds#3. It wasn't calming music either. I was listening to alternative rock!! I never did birthing classes so to tell you those work, I wouldn't know. But you CAN DO IT. Just believe in yourself and the millions of women who have done it without one. Hang in there.
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  • You can do it if you need to!  I was scared of the epidural so I didn't have one AND I ended up having to get pitocin because I was stuck at 6 cm for too many hours.  No epidural + pitocin = very intense contractions, but I lived to tell the tale and here I am having another baby!
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