Hi Tessa

The epidural does not usually hurt. However the local anaesthetic that is injected into your skin before they put the needle into your spine can be painful.
Some things that yo are often not told about epidurals are that you will have to have a catheter put into your bladder, you have a much higher chance of having forceps or a vacuum extraction. Some women have reported having pain in there back, where the needle went in, for weeks and even months after. When the drug is injected into your spine your baby also gets a small amount of the drug. The epidural sometimes does not work fully.