Epidural thoughts?

rivers714 · October 2014

Epidural a give you a chance to rest. Pushing is hard, labor is hard... I felt like my epidural took the pain not the pressure away and allowed me to rest for when the work came.

My son was easy- pushed 45 minutes... But there was still a point where I was so exhausted I was ok with him just growing up in my vagina because I didn't think I could push anymore.

rels09 · October 2014

I had an induction without an epi with my daughter. I won't lie, it was very painful. Right after she was born, I said I wouldn't do it without pain meds again, but now I am considering it. If you decide to go natural, a doula is a must. MH and I were all alone during transition, I was panicking, and fear makes pain much worse.

jenari2013 · October 2014

I went into my last labour with an open mind on drugs. I laboured fast - went from 2 to 7 cms in less than an hour with no meds. I also laboured in the middle of the night - arrived at the hospital at 2 am. I got the epidural and it allowed my body to rest and finish preparing before I had to push. For me I was able to move my legs and felt everything just without the intense level of pain. I was up within 30 minutes of delivery to use the bathroom at the encouragement of the nurses. I'm glad I didn't have any preconceived notions of going med-free. It was the right decision based on my own personal circumstances. I honestly think I would have been too exhausted to push if I didn't get that little break. Do whatever you feel you need to do to have yourself a baby - that's all that matters!

Linds1083 · October 2014

I had a med-free birth with my daughter 13 months ago and plan to do the same this time. My labor was long- lots of hard work! I couldn't imagine having an epidural because I found it most comfortable to be up and moving throughout. I ended up pushing for 4.5 hours (with lots of support from my midwife and family) because my daughter was born with her hand above her head. It was a beautiful birth and I'm proud of myself and the others involved that helped my body stay strong.

I was very committed to a med-free birth during my pregnancy. It's not something that usually happens without planning. I took Bradley childbirth classes with my husband. I gave birth at a birthing center that does not have epidurals (I would have been transferred to the hospital across the street if interventions were needed). I would have given up long before my daughter was born had I not had all that support.

If you are a first time mom, I'd highly encourage you to educate yourself before deciding. (And of course, all birth plans can change at any time). But know what your options are so that you can make an informed decision. So many decisions are highly influenced by the people attending your birth. Make sure you are confident in them. I changed from a regular OB practice to a midwifery practice at 27 weeks last time because I was nervous that I would not be supported. Best decision ever, because I would have had an "emergency" C-section with my daughter after pushing 2 hours. In my experience, midwives are a great option for low-risk mothers because they allow you to take your time.

Pintobean39 · October 2014

lladymack said:
Thank you ladies for all the info and stories. I'm still on the fence. Has anyone had any experience with any other drugs? stadol? Laughing gas etc?

Never heard of any of that being used. My kids were born 21 and 16 yrs ago maybe this is new. I only had the option of epidural.

Honeydewchestnut · October 2014

ksmith0803 said:
I noticed a few posts about not getting an epi so you can move around. I was planning to do the same with DS. However once my water broke, I was confined to the bed (something about the cord could fall out-I need to look up that condition). Having to lay there is what pushed me to get it. I was pretty shocked by that so you may want to do some research to see just how much the hospital will let you move once your water breaks.

Other STM (or more!), please feel free to weigh in on this.

ETA: That condition is cord prolapse.

I'm a doula and all my clients have been allowed to move freely after their membranes ruptured. Maybe it was just the provider's policy to restrict movement?

a316b · October 2014

sarahchrismck said:

On this topic, as a FTM and a major needle phobic, my concern is obviously the pain and the needle. The size of the needle and the fact that it would go in my spine scares the shit out of me.
But I like what PP are saying about it helping them relax and enjoy labor a little more. So... this may be a silly question... but does it hurt and do you feel it? I understand that labor hurts far more, but to a needle phobic, the idea of the needle scares me more than pain.

I honestly never saw the needle. They have you sit on the edge of the bed and do it all behind you. You even curl your head/neck down to give them better access to your spine and your face is on your chest the whole time.

They prep your back to block local pain before they insert the needle and it felt like a bee sting. That was seriously the worst of it.

If you decide to go that route- just communicate to the nurses & anisthesiologist about your fears and I'm sure they will help you avoid sight of the needles.

tinyjoys · October 2014

I went in with the plan of if I needed it. I was exhausted and had been up for 24 hours when I finally got it. My contractions were well within my pain tolerance {it's pretty high}, but I was exhausted and wanted to rest.

Unfortunately, I can't help with the pushing. I never dilated past a 4 even after being at a 3 for three weeks leading up to active labor.

xcjump · October 2014

I didn't use an epidural the first time around. I knew I wanted to try for a med free birth so I used a birthing center where I would need to be transferred to a hospital if I wanted a hospital if I wanted an epidural. The birthing center does have other options though - I think laughing gas is one of them now. I had a relatively easy labor though - I arrived at the birth center at 11:30 pm and my daughter was born at 5:22 am. I don't think I would have been able to do it medfree without the birthing pool though, it definitely helped take the edge off. I only pushed for 10 minutes, but I was in transition for about an hour.

xcjump · October 2014

I agree with previous posters though and that you should research all your options and do what is right for you. Even if you think you want one thing, things might change when you are in labor, or a situation you didn't expect might arise.

VeganOnTuesdays · October 2014

Give me all the drugs. No shame in my game. I will definitely be getting an epidural.

putput19 · October 2014

Let me start with saying I would ABSOLUTELY GET ANOTHER EPIDURAL! However, I did have kinda a nightmare with my dd. They went too deep and I leaked spinal fluid. And had to get 2 blood patches and had a spinal bone bruise. BUT it relaxed me enough to be able to progress. I went from a 6 (when I got it) to a 10 in under 90 min and then napped before pushing 3 times and the baby was out. Totally worth it and will do it again this time.

CTcoffeequeen · October 2014

Statistically speaking I have no idea whether getting an epidural affects pushing. I was induced with my last pregnancy for PIH. I got to 6cm on pitocin and asked for the epidural. It didn't work on the left side of my body but it got me to 10cm really, really quickly. I did then have a hard time getting baby out. I pushed for 3 hours. My OB had just come in with the vacuum when I finally got my little guy out on my own.
Knowing that it didn't work on my left side because of scar tissue j have, I will not even bother with it this time. It was so strange to have half my body numb.

Pintobean39 · October 2014

MrsPDX said:
Sure @GhostOfPostersPast

https://chriskresser.com/natural-childbirth-v-epidural-side-effects-and-risks
https://www.bellybelly.com.au/birth/epidurals-real-risks#.VEhlH4vF-Dl
https://www.mybirth.com.au/intervention/epidurals.html

@ramy3 I am a FTM and open to emergency medical intervention of course. That which is necessary for a safe birth (for example C section if baby is breached and cannot be moved naturally), but from what I have read and heard normally epidurals are not necessary and are avoidable.

None of those post give the scientific backing behind your claims. It's fine if you don't want to have an epidural but don't blurt out statistics unless you have medical proof to back any of it up. Anyone can post a blog based on their opinion.

itsmevkb · October 2014

I've had two births with an epidural and two with nothing. I'll take the epidural any day. I was much more relaxed and present for the births with the epidural, even with the second one where the epidural only cut the pain in half vs my first where I had no pain at all. My natural births were quite fast, but also quite chaotic and painful.

djm31012 · October 2014

Did not read all the responses. I got my epidural at 9cm and it only took on 1 side. I pushed for an hour and a half. I actually had a very good birthing experience (got to the hospital at 530pm and delivered at 9:10pm) I think in hindsite given I made it so far without one I should have just pushed through and went med free but it is what it is. I was in pain and I was throwing up and I wanted some relief! My plan for baby #2 is to get an epidural, but Ill see how we do when we get in there

smurf605 · October 2014

For my first labor, I really needed the epidural. I don't think I would have not given into having the option. Before the epi, I had stadol and it was useless - just made me feel antsy. For my second labor, it was far less painful to get fully dialated, so I went without an epidural. The recovery was much easier. I think that since I had more feeling with my pushing, I had less damage.

soofttie · October 2014

Never again. I got a Epi after 4 hours of labor (it was 1am) and went on to labor for....29 hours!!! With pitosin! And pushed for almost 5 hours! After my son was born I had the Epi removed, was still on pitosin and hemeared golf balls for 6 hours w/o pain meds. I literally blacked out 1,000 times from the pain. If I can do that I got this labor thing. No meds or IV for me!

Morenajuliet · October 2014

kj808 said:

Does the use of the word "natural" when referring to a med-free birth bother anyone else?

Yes, on a previous response I made this point to someone.

Morenajuliet · October 2014

Educate yourself!

That being said go in with a game plan and be okay with the fact that specific situational details can and possibly will change that plan. I was hoping to go natural but not 100%committed to it. I labored for a little, until 5cm and then asked for the epidural. I was a VERY happy camper until 10 and pushing! I pushed LO out after about 15 minutes (the whole labor was only 6 hours). I had said to my anesthesiologist that I was hope to go natural- 'After al,l women had been doing it for years.' He said yes, but that's also why God invented Epidurals. Even though I was uncomfortable at that point that literally made me laugh out loud. I AM SO thankful I got the epidural. Kudos to women who do without but that wasn't for me!

The epidural did not slow down my labor or make me have to push longer. I did not feel sick afterwards. While it was very strange to not be able to feel my legs for a while, I gotta tell you, I am more than glad to not feel all the other things I should have been feeling! I'm hoping birth #2 goes as smoothly. I am really glad I practiced a bunch of hypo birthing breathing though, for the sake of breathing and relaxation only. My husband was glad too

Everyone is different.

chemmom1 · October 2014

I haven't read through the whole thread and don't know if this has been mentioned yet, but I wanted to point out that sometimes Epidurals don't work, only work on one side, or by the time you are able to get one it can be too late! I was induced with my son and things progressed so quickly that I wasn't able to get the epidural until I was 9cm. By that time i had been in world of pain for a while. I got the epidural, felt awesome for a little bit and then quickly started pushing. Next time I will ask for it a lot earlier.

You can have all the plans in the world, but sometimes they just don't work out. I say have a plan, but be flexible and go with the flow.

soofttie · October 2014

@petrichor10‌ I don't you one bit!! *hugs*

lala5507 · October 2014

I'm not a fan and will be trying my hardest to not get an epi this time. I wanted to go med free with both of my girls but ended up caving. The first time the epi numbed my legs beautifully, but not the area the baby comes out of. Seriously, I had a numb leg for hours after birth, but felt the whole birth.

The second one worked well, but when they took out the needle there was blood on it and they said I could have spinal headaches. Thankfully I didn't. But I just don't want to chance it again.

I'm hoping to get a doula this time.

roundtwoOMG · October 2014

I LOVED my epidural. The best. I do think it made pushing harder, though I have nothing to compare it to...however I did feel like it was hard to 'target' the right place...

I will say - if you want a natural birth, you need to be really committed to it and really want it. I think if you go in with a "I'll *try* for natural but see what comes" attitude, you'll definitely end up with an epi cuz DUDE...IT HURTS. In my experience anyways :-)

Either way - healthy baby and healthy mommy...that's the goal!

ambarnett1 · October 2014

Jumping in to say, I had a love hate with my epi. I wasn't dilating, so I got Pitocin due to my water being broken for 8+ hours. Once it was turned up high I was vomiting and couldn't handle it, so I got the epi. I then labored for 27 hours and pushed for 3 hours before DS arrived. I think I progressed slower and pushing was hard because I had no feeling whatsoever. I could feel contractions on the left side of my belly though. It was a weird experience. You'll know if you need it or not. Don't go in writing it off or think your doomed to get it. Keep your options open.

JenGrl8503 · October 2014

You need to not just research options, but your OB/midwife's procedures and those of the facility you plan to deliver in.

My OB prefers to try all none-interventions before introducing pitocin, even after an epidural. Also, the hospital I delivered both girls at turns down the strength of the epidural around the 9cm mark so that you do have plenty of feeling back for pushing and the recovery time after the baby arrives is much quicker.

I went into DD1's l&d with the mindset of I'd love to go med-free but I know I didn't put in the time learning pain management so I'm open to an epidural...while also knowing that my body processes pain meds very bizarrely (from previous broken bones/surgeries). I also typically have a verrrrry high pain tolerance.

With DD1 I made it to about 6 1/2 cm before asking for the epidural....it wasn't because of the pain, but because the way the contractions were hitting I was insanely nauseous and to me that is worse than pain. I actually threw up all over my poor nurse at one point...she was a great sport about it though. I got the epidural and after about 3 hours it wore off on the left side. They pushed more meds and it wore off again about an hour...right when it was time to push. So for DD1 I could feel everything on the left side and nothing on the right side. Also, I had a 2nd degree tear but I don't blame the epidural...DD1's head was in the 90th percentile at birth!

With DD2 I stayed home longer because the contractions were not getting closer together (staying in the 6-8 minute range) but they were WAY more intense than what I remembered with DD1 so we finally went in and I was only 4cm but I threw up all over the admissions desk so I immediately requested the epidural. This time it took completely. Within minutes of getting the epidural, my contractions slowed down to 15 minutes apart so right away my doctor had me lay on my left side for 20 minutes then lay on my right side for 20 minutes because the baby was really high.....not sure about the science behind it but about 5 minutes before that was done, as the nurse was hooking up the pitocin (last resort) the baby's heart monitor flipped out...the nurse was frantically moving the monitor around my belly trying to pick up baby's heart beat when she realized the reason she couldn't get it was because DD2 was on her way out of me already and on her own! As soon as the nurse paged the dr, she turned off the epidural and within 15 minute DD2 was here....she had a 5th percentile head....so much more pleasant for mommy!

So long post...but my point is each patient, child, doctor, and facility is different...educate, educate, educate. Because I knew what my ob's procedures were and the hospitals, I didn't freak out when my contractions slowed down...I was able to stay calm and rationally discuss next steps with my ob because I already knew the different options.

And I'll be going into baby #3 with the same philosophy as the last 2....if I can go medfree awesome, if not BRING ON THE EPI!

jenanns · October 2014

I haven't had a chance to read everything yet but made it to the end of page 3...I am wondering does the epidural prevent you from birthing in different positions aside from laying down. This is my biggest fear.

My mother and sister both gave birth drug free and I have that as my plan for several reasons.

The biggest one being that I have a slightly elongated tailbone and am at risk for breaking it during labor from what I have read it seems trying to deliver in a squating position or other semi standing position will help do what I can to prevent that which would be ideal as a broken tailbone will hurt long after my labor is over so I guess I would prefer to deal with the temporary labor pain to have better luck with less tearing and broken tailbone....

TarheelMama202 · October 2014

It always cracks me up when I read a FTM say that they have a very specific birth plan. Like I am totally going natural, you guise. I know exactly how all of this is going to go down.

My DS' birth was a comedy of errors. I was 10 days past due, induced, had an epi that only took on one side, and labored for 25 hours feeling everything on my left. DS flipped OP and I stalled at 8 cm. I was stuck at 8 cm for five hours.

When they said it was c-section time I was all

Can't wait for another c-section! Sign me up, bishes.

lgsdesigner · October 2014

For me, it was more difficult, but only because I didn't know if I was pushing hard enough or not.
I guess it didn't really matter because my son got stuck in my birth canal anyways, and it ended up being an emergency c-section.

This time, I would like to try for an all-natural birth, but if it gets to painful, I won't be too ashamed to ask for an epi again.

maritimeme · October 2014

I was about 7 cm when I asked for mine. After my water broke it was a whole different ball game. They had to give me a second dose before I couldn't feel my contractions anymore, and I couldn't move my legs. But they checked me right away and I was at a 9+ with a lip! I stayed that was for hours, trying to let my body labour down, and then they realized that DD's head was coming down a little sideways. So I had to push through that little lip left.

No regrets at all on the epi. The nurse figured by the time I got mine (after getting the IV and a double dose) I actually dilated without it. They spent a whole lotta time where their hands stuck inside of me trying to figure out her position and with the time I tried to labour down and then 3+ of pushing there is no way I would have been ok doing that without an epi. I did push much better once the epi started to wear off, but because of her position I also needed to push a fair bit harder than I maybe would have had to (so I am told).

This time I will won't ask for the epi right away and go with my gut, same as last time.

babydefeo · October 2014

I loved my epidural with two out of three of my children. It made it so much easier!!! Plan on having it with this baby too

mpiemont · October 2014

I've had 2 med-free/natural births so no advice on pushing with an epidural. I think it's different for every woman and every baby. You can push for 3 hours natural, you can push for 1 hour with an epi, etc.

ambarnett1 · October 2014

For my epi I was only allowed to lay down. No moving around which sucked.

jenanns · October 2014

HilarityEnsued said:

ambarnett1 said:

For my epi I was only allowed to lay down. No moving around which sucked.

what kind of moving would you plan to do with an epidural? It is intended to numb you from at least the waist down, usually probably mid torso down. How are you going to move around with the use of your legs? Seems like an obvious liability the hospital would not be wanting to take on.

I asked a question about this so I am guessing that is why she is responding....I wanted to know if you can squat or anything other than laying down on your back to deliver as I have concerns about breaking my tailbone delivering laying down due to pre-existing condition....

@ambarnett1 thanks for responding

jenanns · October 2014

and some people seem to say they can still feel their legs and have some mobility so I wasn't sure it ment flat on your back no options...

MallyJM128 · October 2014

With DS I planned to attempt med-free but was open to the epidural if needed. Well, I ended up being induced at 38 weeks for medical reasons and he was NOT ready to come out. I didn't progress past 2cm for 10 hours so I asked for the epidural hoping that would help.
I had a really good experience with mine. I wasn't completely numb and was able to feel when I needed to push. Also meant I was able to feel back labor the entire time which did kinda suck. Did a couple of "practice pushes" and when the dr showed up he was out in one push. I was up and walking right after they brought me up to my room too. I know this isn't the case for everyone but that's just my experience.

My_Matt · October 2014

I am hoping not to need any drugs, but if I can't handle it, then I will totally be asking for whatever drugs they will give me.

MAdams728 · October 2014

I must have had a lighter epi, or my body just really responded to it well. I felt no pain at all, just pressure. I could move my legs on my own, I could feel my husband and nurse holding my legs, and I could feel how effectively I was pushing. I was standing up within 30 minutes of having it removed.

CTri17 · October 2014

https://americanpregnancy.org/labor-and-birth/epidural/ Here are some good descriptions pros/cons I have had 2 homebirths, so no epidural here, but I know lots of. Friends who have gotten them and had good luck

nykkybaby · October 2014

I was induced and asked for the epi as soon as I was dilated enough to get it. I have no doubt I'll be getting another one if everything goes as planned.

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