Hi all, im looking at the epidural for pain relief but find it hard to believe that you have no pain during labour just pressure( most women). Is this true??? im looking at the mobil epi so i can still use my legs and feel the need to push but have most the pain relived...... Please what did you all go through from getting the epi inserted to the effects to it wearing off?? and also what type as i have read the narcotic type can cross the placenta and make baby drowzie??
I had an epidural with my second labour and it was as you described - I could feel the pressure of contractions, but not the pain. It's all a bit of a blur now, but from memory I started shaking a lot when it first went in. Because my body was numb, it thought I was cold so it compensated by making me shake. I just wore the nightie I brought along with me. The epidural was wearing off by the time it came to push, so I was able to push and feel what I was doing without any problems.
I had a trouble free epidural and labour. My DH nearly passed out when they inserted the needle into my spine though LOL!
Before you go into labour you should try and have a chat with the anesthetist about the type of epidurals they offer. Mobile epidurals are becoming a lot more popular now, but not everywhere offers them. Some doctors prefer to let the epidural wear off a little as you get to pushing, and others are happy for you to remain completely numb throughout. Now is a good time to discuss what you would prefer.
WRT what you will go through, if you have an epidural you will be unable to feel your bladder, so will usually have a catheter inserted. You will be at risk of your blood pressure lowering, and some babies don't respond well to an epidural, so you would be monitored constantly if you have one, and you may need fluids and drugs to stabalise your BP. You may also need drugs to strengthen your contractions, and having an epidural leaves you at a slightly increased risk of needing an instrumental birth, but there is no evidence to say having an epidural leaves you at increased risk of a cesarean.
I may be wrong, but I think all epidurals contain an opiate which will cross the placenta. However this would be in a smaller dose than if you had a morphein or pethadine injection. After an epidural, some babies will have trouble suckling initially whilst they fully wake up.
insertion wise, didnt feel it go in, just alot of pressure in my back and shooting pains down my leg. Being hunched over with a big belly isnt easy and being yelled at to NOT MOVE was a bit scary, i was jsut praying i didnt have a contraction then!
Didnt feel a thing, not even pressure from my contractions, and couldnt feel anything while i was pushing (had a high dose epi) I shook like a leaf and was scared i was going to fall out of the bed. Afterwards it was about 3-4 hours before i could semi stand, i stll needed to be supported as one leg was still pretty dead, but was up and about within 6 hours.
honestly, its not something i'd use again, i actually started to freak out when i couldnt feel my legs
i had a epidural for my second labour and while i felt no pain id feel a bit pf pressure at each contraction which was handy for when i was pushing.
i could move my legs, nowhere near enough to be able to stand or anything like that, just enough to move them round on the bed, i still needed help into the stirrups.
when it was "done" all i felt was the local anesthetic go in and after that nothing at all.
as traveller pointed out baby will be monitored closely, i had a CTG on the whole time, and because of the drug in the epi's it does cross over to bub and they can be sleepy, my DD was, but id also had a pethadine shot as well.
when i called for the epi, the middies got me changed into a hospy gown as wel...
I did still feel some pain (I don't think it was inserted 100% correctly), but I'm grateful for that - if I hadn't been able to feel anything, I wouldn't have known when to push. I reckon I would've ended up with a c/s otherwise.
Other things I wasn't fond of:
- I got the shakes big time. I admit I found it amusing at times though
- I was so drugged out, I fell asleep after Milly was born, and stayed pretty out of it for a few hours. Not only did I miss most of her first feed, she wasn't attached properly and damaged my left nipple. It only just started feeling better on Wednesday.
- They tried to do directed pushing with me, but for the most part I pushed when I felt the need and just extended that a few seconds longer.
- I've been having some back pain, which apparently is a common effect.
Sent from my iPhone so forgive the speelung misstacks
The worst part of the epidural for me was trying to hunch forwards over my big tum!! The local that went in first wasn't too bad and after that all I could feel was the cold running down the tube. I could still move my legs but could hardly feel the contractions, and for us it was the best thing to do coz it allowed me and dh to rest (he slept, I didn't) after 2 days of constant contractions prelabour and 7hrs of established labour. I often wonder if things would have been quicker and if I would have avoided the epi and forceps if I didnt have it, but then I think probably not because I had a 4kg bub that was off centre and couldn't get around the bend, and without that rest from the epidural I would have been too exhausted to push. I didn't have gas or pethedine.
Good luck with your decision and remember things may turn out differently when the time comes!
I had an epidural, left it to the last minute then had to wait for ages as there was a queue of women before me. Will definitely ask sooner this time round. Mine had to be done twice as it hadn't worked on one side of my back. The thing I found surprising was that they turned it down when it was time to deliver and I felt the pain. I couldn't take it and they increased it a little more. My DS was fine, so no issues for him but for me it was a godsend!
In regards to the pain of insertion, I can't remember it hurting at all, I agree with Skybie, the scariest thing was being told don't move, at that stage my contractions were coming within seconds of each other (I was induced and on a drip) and I was terrified that one was going to come and I would move. However the midwifes gave me a couple of strong hits of gas that took the edge off and helped me keep still, in hindsight I kind of wish I had of stuck with the gas!
Although the epidural was great in some respects, by the time I had it I'd been in labour for around 14 hours, and had hardly sleept the night before, between contractions I was passing out I was so tired. So as soon as it took effect I went to sleep for a hour or so which meant I was refreshed for the pushing side of things ;p
What makes me regreat having it was that by the time it came for me to let the epidural wear off so I could begin pushing, I was petrified of the pain returning. Where-as before hand I felt mentally and physically prepared to progress and didn't want to go from nothing to 100 again. I'm not sure if that would have been the case though as my epidural didn't wear off, and I didn't feel anything of the birth, not the epistiotomy or the stiches, or my legs for hours afterward! I hated not being able to stand or walk afterwards.
I think next time, I'd like to try just gas for pain relief or at least have a much weaker epidural. I ended up wearing a hospital gown, but to be honst I have no memory of putting it on???? Somehow I went from the birthing outfit I'd brought with me to the gown...it's all a bit of a haze before the epi ;p
When mine was being inserted the only bit that hurt was the local going in. I could still move my legs pretty much as normal, but I couldnt feel the pain of the contractions (I could just feel my belly going hard when they came). It allowed me to sleep for a couple of hours while they drip kept my contractions close together. I did get the shakes at the start but it stopped pretty quick. I could feel my tummy going hard when they came to push (sometimes, sometimes I had to be told when to push). I did end up with an episiotomy but no instruments needed to be used thankfully (ds was 4kg). They must have turned it down before I started pushing as I felt ALL the pain of pushing DS out (but the contractions were still numbed). Which I am really glad for, call me crazy but I loved feeling the pain of pushing my little boy out. It meant I knew when to breath through the contractions and give small pushes/bigger pushes etc. After being stitched up and waiting for my room to be ready, it was a 1.5hrs-2hrs or so before I was on my feet as normal. My thighs were numb but I could walk/stand fine.
I had a slight backache the next day, but I was sore all over from the labour & birth I didnt notice too much lol.
All I wore when getting it was my bra hahaha. I'd been pushing for 3 hours before getting the epidural so was dressed expecting a baby lol. But my cervix had other ideas (I lost a cm dilation) and thats when I got the epidural as I was exhausted and knew I needed to relax to get that cm back but I couldnt physically do it so needed help.
Also DS was born completely alert and feed with perfect attachment first go 30mins after birth. I had only had a small amount of gas (which was also only set really low) while going through transition before getting the epidural.
I had one which blocked all pain from my tummy down It was quite fabulous after a VERY painful posterior labour
- The needle didn't phase me at all. They don't worry me anyway but by that stage, I was in so much pain that the needle was the least of my worries!
- I had full relief within about 10 seconds - bliss
- I got the shakes full on which was more annoying (but quite funny) than anything
- my doctors ensure pd the dosage wore off in time for me to push. Not sure how they calculate that but they did! At first my midwife guided me through pushing for probably the first few contractions (they can tell on the monitor) then the epi wore off so I could feel everything again anyway
- unfortunately after an hour of pushing and screaming with severe back pain, my OB discovered DD was posterior and stuck. With my consent, they topped up my epi, manually turned DD and used a vacuum to get her out. She was out in 3 pushes - I was once again guided by the midwives as to when I should push. It was no dramas, just weird not feeling pain, only the sensation of DD being there crowning then slithering out!
- I was fully mobile within 2.5 hours of giving birth. I suffered no side effects at all
Epidural??
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It was quite fabulous after a VERY painful posterior labour 
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