Epidural & Blood Pressure Drop

briwuvsbri · December 2015

Hello, as some of you may already know... I am currently six months pregnant with child number three. I understand that I do not have to get an epidural, but I plan on it and I also know the risks quite well. I had an epi with my first (son) because I was 15 and my water did not break on its own, so the OB broke it for me; I was induced and given pitocin. I honestly did not want the epi, but the hospital staff warned me that my contractions are going to be fast and furious. Boy, were they right - so, I caved and got the epi. I was in labor for around 8 hours and pushed him out in about 5 minutes (100% numb, did not even feel the "ring of fire.") Also, zero tearing. Fast forward to age 21, almost the same scenario. Except this time, I had an apparently common side effect; common, but scary as Hell. My blood pressure dropped and fast, at a very rapid and dangerous pace. Nurses surrounded me, trying really hard to get my blood pressure to rise. My face was white and my lips were blue, from what one of the nurses told me. I was fading out and felt drunk, as if I drank a crap load of wine. Anywho, it took them longer than normal... but finally after several shots of only God knows what into my IV, I was back to my 'ol pregnant self. Once again, around 8 hours of labor and about 5-10 minutes of pushing, I gave birth to my daughter. As before, zero tearing (though I definitely felt the "ring of fire" this time.) Okay, so now that I have ranted and raved. My main concern is that I am a bit nervous of my blood pressure dropping after this next epidural, since it happened last time. I know, I do not have to get it. However, that is not the case here; I want it, so I am willing to take the risk. There is a risk with everything in life. I will end this post with one question:

Has this ever happened to you?

taysun · December 2015

Drop in blood pressure is normal with an epidural. It's actually one of the reasons I'm having one, I have high blood pressure and it is sure to spike to dangerous levels during painful contractions. My doctor recommended I go with an epi to help keep from needing blood pressure medication or magnesium.

lemomof5 · December 2015

This happened with me and my last baby. I passed out and they had to give me Meds to bring my heart rate up. My baby's heart rate also dropped and I was almost taken for an emergency C-section because of it. The epidural never took for me and I felt every thing.

cmerribury · December 2015

It's common with a lot of drugs, not just epidurals. I have low BP to start and whenever I'm given anything for pain in the hospital we (my husband is my advocate) have to explain this to them and ask for the dose slowly at first, then worked up to its usual level. Even then I still sometimes pass out (which isn't uncommon for me) and/or vomit. I would discuss this with your OB beforehand, get his/her instructions on what to tell the staff and/or include in your file prior to being admitted to L+D.