Labour with Epidural

[Enchanted]

Hi Kitz,

Every situation is different with an epidural. I was given an epidural at 7cm as bubs was posterior. I had been asking for one from 5cms and they wouldn't give me one as I was dialating well and they didn't want to "mess" with that iykwim?! When I was given my epi I was in a lot of pain (as you would expect). When I was given the epi it took around 15 mins for it to kick in and then after that all I could feel was pressure ie. tightening around your belly. I was left to continue dilating and was at 10cms when I was taken to theater due to other reasons. I had tried pushing and it still is physical but I dare say not as much as with no drugs.

HTH and good luck with everything.

[fionas]

Hi there

Like Oshani said, every situation is different. I had an epi basically because I wanted to press the pause button! I'd had a very long pre-labour and had 7 hours sleep in three days so for me it wasn't the pain so much as the length of the labour that was the killer - I was knackered. My baby was also posterior so it was always going to be slow.

I had mine at about 7cm. That meant I could rest for a couple of hours before I was dilated enough to push. The epi took all the pain away and I felt fantastic. Like I said, I just REALLY wanted a break from pain after three days. And infact, those two hours were the only pain-free hours I had in seven months because I'd also been suffering from an unstable pelvis.

I couldn't really feel much with the pushing - did it for 2.5 hours and nothing happening. I also couldn't move into better positions so was doing the flat on the back in bed business which is not optimal for getting the baby out but as your legs are numb you can't really do anything else.

But I knew all that before I had the epidural and I'd weighed up the pros and cons.

In the end, I had a forceps delivery.

Given the same set of circumstances, I'd do exactly the same.

Just make sure you know all the pros and cons - if you have an epidural you are much more likely to have other interventions - ventouse, forceps, caesarean because it's harder to push the baby out naturally. And it depends on your obstetrician - some private obs seem more reluctant these days to use forceps and will send you off for a ceasar - my midwives told me lots of the other obs would only have 'let me' push for 20 mins, then told me the baby was stuck and I had to have a caesar. My ob is very much vaginal birth where possible so I was lucky there.

And remember that it's not always about the pain, it's about the length of the labour too AND that's not something you can predict or really prepare for.

[Sueby]

Hi,
I had an epidural with my 3rd baby who was 9lb 9oz. I was induced and needed syntocinon to get things going -- they got going very quickly and she got stuck so I had a low spinal first ( as I couldn't keep still enough for epidural) once that kicked in it was magic. I had no discomfort I went on to have the epidural and I relaxed and then DD was born one hour later. I felt the urge to push and pushed her out.
Every situation is different, I was induced with my first and just had gad for the delivery and the same with my second. But because DD was bigger the epidural was fabulous.

Weigh up the pros and cons and see what happens during your labour!
Sue

[~Trish~]

I had an epidural with DS#2. I had a traumatic, long first labour with a terrible recovery (due to blood loss) so I chose an epidural the second time around to give me a chance to rest as last time I was a write-off for weeks afterwards.

For me it was nearly completely painless, but I still felt pain at the top of my ribs where the epi couldn't reach. It was still heaps better though! I could feel each contraction, but they just didn't hurt.

Re: your question about how much pain you have to be in before you get one, it just depends on your hospital. I was managing the pain really well, but I asked for an epi at 5cm and when I told them about my first labour they didn't hesitate and organised one straight away. I think private hospitals are a bit more sparing with epidurals due to the costs, but again it will depend on the hospital. Maybe you could ask your hospital at your next visit?

Yes I did have to just sit around for the next couple of hours, but it was so relaxing and enjoyable that I didn't mind at all. My epi started wearing off when it came time to push and I pushed my DS out by myself within 15 minutes.

I personally had a good experience, but not everyone does. I probably could have gone through labour without it because I was handling it so well using lots of relaxation techniques and deep breathing, but because of my previous trauma I felt an epidural was what I needed to make the whole experience positive for me.

It is definitely worth looking at natural pain relief methods first as they really do work.

HTH