November 2019 Moms

Epidurals - Questions and Discussion

I figured since with had the unmedicated advice side we could give the opposition equal turn so as to not take over the unmedicated advice discussion.

I know that I am not the only one with pro-epidural experience but I'll at least put my two sense out there as well.  I was on the no epidural train until I had my first and then I don't know why I fought it so long since it was a much more positive experience after.  I didn't realize that throwing up can be your body's reaction to pain so once my contractions hit the point where that start happening regularly it is time for me to get the epidural :)

My experiences:
- I am terrified of needles but if the dr is good at his job not only will you not feel it (since they numb the area first) but you will never see the needle.
- The IV is way worse in my opinion
- I could control my epidural dose so if you want to feel more you definitely can or vice versa.  I typically stop giving myself more around 9cm dilated so that I had more feeling to push.  That being said, I did have some tearing (9lb+ babies are fun) so I gave myself some more before they sewed me up so I didn't feel that at all.
- I did have to get pitocin after I had my epidurals as my laboring did slow down a bit but that gave me time to sleep. (It is just something they put through your IV so no other change)
- I could feel my legs for the most part although they did feel funny and I would need help turning from side to side (I blame most of this on the HUGE belly and the IV though)
- You do get a catheter because you will no longer be leaving the bed for the bathroom
- Recovery was a non-issue, once the epidural wears off and they check you out of L&D and into the Newborn care there was no residual effects from the epidural for me.  The biggest recovery issue I recall is the tearing recovery.

Labor 1: Epidural at 4cm -> 14 hours of laboring to 10cm (aka watching movies and sleeping) -> 45 minutes of pushing
Labor 2: Epidural at 5 or 6cm -> 12 hours of laboring to 10cm (mostly sleeping since I checked in during the late afternoon) -> 10 minutes or less of pushing

Hope that gives another side to epidurals as I know prior to my first I was terrified and read so many negatives and I would have appreciated having more information prior to it.

Re: Epidurals - Questions and Discussion

  • Just to clarify, I don't think it's an opposition thing at all. I'm for whatever a woman wants/needs to have a healthy baby. I had an epidural with my first and had no issues, other that hating the catheter part haha. I didn't have the stalling of labor that you hear about either. It was very peaceful for us. 
  • @Dancer688 that is such a great point about the anesthesiologist. Mine was great, I never saw the needle either and I never felt anything either and he was a really nice guy. 

    I think there is a lot of pressure in today's mommy world to go unmedicated, or maybe just a lot of comments from outside parties when you do go medicated. I've posted this in other threads before, but I had both the nurse and the LC at the hospital comment on the fact that I got an epidural and the nurse even said that she had 4 kids before they even had epidurals, so I should be able to get through it. These sorts of comments really hurt me at the time, especially since I had a little bit of a hard time coming to grips with the fact that I ultimately ended up with a c/s.  

    Here's my experience- 

    I arrived at the hospital around 3cm dilated in the evening, was admitted since I was 40+4 at that point and a snowstorm was on the way in 2 days. I got the epidural around 4-5cm, and was able to sleep the rest of the night. I stalled at a 9 for around 5 hours, they gave me pitocin through my IV and broke my water, but ultimately nothing else happened and I stalled at the 9 and baby stayed high and did not descend. After another few hours the on-call OB came to see me and recommended we move to a c/s, so we did. During the c/s MH was told that positionally, DS was stuck somehow in a position that would have made it unlikely he would have been able to descend and come out vaginally. I am grateful I already had the epidural so I was able to rest during the night. i can't say how much it stalled my progress, but I don't think too much since it really took me a long time of feeling contractions before we got to the hospital and I was only 3cm dilated that point. 


  • Loading the player...
  • @dani_0921 - I agree.  It is whatever is best for the mom and baby. 

    It is like breastfeeding and formula fed.  Fed is best, whatever gets baby the nutrients and keeps the mom sane.
  • @Dancer688 A-freaking-men! 
  • Power to any Mama's going into this with even the plan to go unmedicated, I commend you. It totally can be done. 

    For me, I forget how dialated I was by the time they came, but I did have to wait a long time for them to come so if you want it, keep in mind there could be a wait. I have also talked about getting it being not the best experience but only because they were a-holes. Once it was in I still had discomfort but was in a much better place mentally. I should have slept. Also, not sure if it happens to everyone but I had the side effect of being very very itchy from my neck down (I've now read in other birth stories that they can give Benadryl for this but I'm iffy on how I feel about that for next time). I could still move my legs but I don't think they would have been able to hold weight. I thought having a catheter was great 😂 

    They ended up shutting my epidural before delivery because they were afraid I'd not be able to push correctly. I still don't know how much wore off by the time I had my son but once I was ready to go things moved really fast and I only pushed for 14 minutes and there was plenty of pain lol. As for recovery, before they even brought my son back from getting checked out and his first bath I was able to get up and walk myself to the bathroom (MH was out cold, lol). Removing the needle was painless and I never had to see it. I will be doing it again as long as things don't move too fast.  
  • I just want to say, it really depends on the anesthesiologists that gives you the epidural on whether you won’t feel the needle or have residual affects. My last epidural was awful. The doctor didn’t wait for the numbing stuff to take affect before she started jamming the needle into my back. Then, she was in such a hurry to get out of the room that she was rushing through all the negative affects to look out for. She was foreign, so through all my tears and her talking a mile a minute, I couldn’t understand anything she was telling me. Then, I had no control over the dosage of the epidural. The nurses had control of that. 

    I’m not trying to scare anyone but I think it is important to know that you may get a crappy doctor like I did and end up having a horrible experience. It was so bad that I told DH if I need an emergency C for this delivery they can just knock me out and I will see them both when I wake up. He knows what I want as far as the baby goes right after delivery and I trust him to do all those things. 
  • Thanks for a your stories ladies, it’s always good to hear all the options.  One thing I wanted to mention for FTM that I just learned at my hospital tour is that they require you to have already had a liter of fluid through IV before you can get one. Idk if all hospitals do that but I had never known that. They say it’s to combat the blood pressure drop the epidural can cause.  Not a big deal just could make a difference during a fast labor. 
  • mc0303mc0303 member
    Thank you all so much for sharing your experiences! This is so helpful to read as a FTM. ❤️
  • I tried for unmedicated with my son and hope to again, but did end up with an epidural when we almost went to emergency c section due to his heart rate dropping too low for too long.  It is definitely highly reliant on the doctor and the individual.  The anesthesiologist that did my epidural was great, but it was painful mainly because I was already entering transition and had to lay still through a contraction at 10cm.  The one thing I did not like is that my husband couldn’t be in the room, so I only had the nurse to help me through that pain, and I may have broken her hand from squeezing so hard haha.  I could not feel the needle afterwards, but I did have numbing in my right hand fingers for a few weeks after (they’re not sure if it was from the epidural or not, but it certainly made snapping onesies a pain in the butt!!).  Also, keep in mind that in an emergency situation it should not be a wait for the anesthesiologists-they we’re in my room within minutes, so don’t be nervous about that if it happens to you.  I’ll echo what someone else said that the IV was definitely more painful and annoying than the epidural for sure.  

      For me, the epidural slowed things down which is why I hope to avoid it this time if I have a choice.  However, my sister had two quick births on epidurals and we are very similarly built, so it really is different for everyone.  Regardless, I did not feel the catheter after they put it in and it was not painful when they did it-this was honestly one of my biggest fears beforehand!  I tore a lot due to interventions, so it was nice to have the pain relief from the epidural when they stitched me up since it did take over an hour.  Within half an hour of stopping the meds I was able to walk to the bathroom no problem.  I had a pretty low dose through labor, I could feel mostly everything and could move my legs, just couldn’t put weight on them and don’t remember them feeling funny. 
  • In total, I have had 3 epidurals. The first 2 weren’t traumatic for me. I never felt the needle on those and one of those I could control the dosage. It all comes down to the doctor you end up getting. 
  • I did hate that my husband had to leave the room and he wasnt happy about it either. I didnt have enough time between the epidural being placed and delivering for there to be a need for a catheter.  So I lucked out there. Although I plan to go fairly low medicated for this one, I am truly open to anything medically sound that needs to be done to get baby here safely and keep both of us healthy and alive.
  • kj17-2kj17-2 member
    I had a great experience with my epidural! I hate that there's almost a stigma against them now. I did my research, took the birthing class, talked to a lot of family and friends who had epidurals, and decided I would welcome any modern medicine to help me.

    My anesthesiologist was amazing, and it didn't hurt. It was just hard having to stay still during the contractions while he inserted the needle. My husband stayed in the room, but he had to sit in a chair facing me. I did have to wait about 45 min for the anesthesiologist because there were apparently two other women ahead of me.

    Once I got the epidural, I could control how much to give myself. I think I overdid it, because I fell asleep for an hour and when the nurse woke me up to start pushing, I couldn't feel my legs at all. But it didn't  slow down my labor, I didn't push long, the numbness wore off quickly and I didnt have any lasting effects. I also didn't get a catheter. I was thankful to have something to take the edge off, because I tore pretty badly and needed stitches.

    My advice to FTMs is do your research and make the decision that's best for you. And even if you plan for an unmedicated birth and change your mind, don't feel any shame! The most important thing is a healthy baby and mom.
  • My story... My first ended up being 9 days late. At 5 days late I was induced which failed. (I had no idea inductions could fail. I was so disappointed.) 4 days later labor started on its own. Went to the hospital. Can’t remember how dilated I was when I had the epidural as it was over 13 years ago...but it was uneventful. Ended up needing an emergency-c since she was having a lot of decels. Labor #2 and #3 were repeat-cs, the epidurals went by the book. The only thing I remember feeling was a little spinal pressure but no pain.

    Mom-shaming needs to go the way of the Dodo. We all do what we believe is best for our families and children. Happy, healthy children are the goal.
  • Reviving this thread, I hope that's okay!
    I've heard there's such thing as "too far along" for an epidural - how far would that be? Will a doctor/nurse say "this is likely your last chance"? Haha I am preparing myself for no epidural, but I'm open to the idea that things will hurt more than I'm capable of withstanding. 
  • If you are pushing the baby out it is too late haha

    Other than that it depends on the mom and doctor.  I had a friend who was not able to stop moving because she was just about to hit the transition stage and the doctor said they wouldn't give her one because she wasn't able to be still.  But in the end her husband and a few doctors were able to calm her down and help her be still so the doctor revised his opinion.  

    Others may have more experience with the not being able to get one.  
  • @alaluap I think there are so many factors involved with this, but it is definitely something that happens. Different doctors and hospitals have where they draw the line for that and it depends on how fast you're progressing, where the anesthesiologist is at, and more. I would say manage the best you can and make a mental note of how you're feeling vs. how dialated you are and if you've hit transition yet. It's possible that just when it starts to feel unbearable you're really in the home stretch and can get through it still med free as you wish.

    If I were you I would go back to old BMBs to read birth stories and see how it goes down, because I've seen plenty where they were told it was too late and then managed just fine without.
Sign In or Register to comment.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards
"
"