Felt pain during c-section

Hi Everyone,
I am 17 weeks pregnant with my third child. I have had two previous emergency c-sections & I am having a planned c-section with this one. However I am terrified of the operation as in my last operation the epidural didn't take effect properly on my right side where I have nerve damage from my first c-section & I felt a terrible burning/tearing sensation when they were pulling my daughter out. (Don't mean to freak anyone out, I'm sure it's fairly uncommon). Just wondering if this has happened to anyone else? I am planning on having a spinal block this time. Can anyone tell me if they found a spinal to be better than an epi. I am so nervous that it might happen again. Thankyou :)

I'm sorry you had to go through that and i can fully understand your aprehension.
I have had 3 c-sections 2 epidurals and one spinal, i much prefer the epidural.
I'm sure if you tell your ob your concerns they will make sure that the epi/spinal is fully effective before starting the c-section

Thanks for your reply Naomi. I have another app. with the doctor in a couple of weeks so I will ask him what he thinks will be best. I've also heard that you can have a spinal & also have the epi tube put in ready to go too incase something happens. So that sounds like a good option too. :)

I don't want to freak you out Kelli but my experience of a spinal for an emergency CS was a disaster!

They administered the spinal no problem and were waiting for it to take effect. They ran ice up my legs and I said i can still feel that, they waited a bit and did it again and I said I can still feel that! They said no you can't, I said YES I CAN!! they put up the screens layed out the sterile cloths, by this time I'm almost hyperventilating, I was protesting, my DH was protesting and all I could think was they were going to start cutting and I would feel everything. At the last minute the anesthetist pinched my tummy with some forceps and I almost jumped off the table and he said "you did feel that didn't you?" and I said Ah yes!!!!! So he finally admitted it didn't work and I ended up with a general anasthetic. It was terrifying and I felt really disconnected to my son for a while after his birth.
Sorry it's so scarey, it's just my experience!

I had a spinal and will do so with this pregnancy, however I will be asking for a bigger dose as unfortunately I felt it with the last c/s. I think just talk to the aneisthetist (sp?) and let them know all of your worries and I am sure that they will be able to talk you through what is going to happen and what tests they will do before hand.


All the best.

Hi Kelli,
I have had 2 c-sections and both were very different. I'm having my third c-section in November and I am feeling anxious as well. With my first son I was put on an epidural for the last 11 hours of the labour and then had to have an emergency c-section because after 50 odd hours I had only dilated to 7 cms. I had a spinal on top of the epi and I felt nothing throughout the surgery...no pain or movement...it was a peaceful birthing experience. My second sons delivery was a different story. I had just the spinal and felt much tugging and pulling and movement inside. It was very scary for me and I found the birthing experience to be extremely uncomfortable. I felt no pain but I could clearly feel the sensations of things being moved around and lots of pressure here and there. I was so nervous and scared my hands, arms and mouth were shaking like crazy! They had a hard time getting my second son out as he was 9 pound 3 (2 weeks early) and I'm very small so that was why the experience was so full on for me. But he was born safely and I was so very grateful for that. So I dont know if your experience can be different because of the baby's birth weight but i know with my third c-section I will be communicating more with the doctors. The idea of having an epi ready sounds great as this worked so well with my first c-section. Good luck!!
xx Laura

Kelli, I hear how scared you are about having a repeat of your horrible experience, but it needn't happen again. Speak with your doctor about what happened, get it written through your notes, and insist on meeting with the anaesthetist prior to your CS date. Provide them with copies of your records from last time and talk specifically about what happened. It is the anaesthetists job to ensure you don't feel any undue pain, and because this has happened they will need to tweak what they do this time to get it right. If you give them your medical records then they will be able to see what has happened and form a different (and more appropriate) plan for your care.

I was really worried about having a spinal, but the anaesthetist did a wonderful job and I felt so comfortable throughout. However, with the spinal it's a once-only dose, if they don't get it right they may need to proceed to a general anaesthetic, which you need to be aware of the possibility of. Your anaesthetist should be able to discuss this with you and answer all of your questions well before time.

Good luck! :)

I had a spinal block with both my sections and I didnt feel any pain it was only a tugging feeling. I am not sure how the epidural works but I hope that the spinal block works well for you this time.

For my first emergency c/s I already had the epidural in place so they just topped it up. I could feel a burning, tearing feeling towards the end after my son was already born, so when they were packing everything away so to speak. Fortunately though they topped up the epi & I was fine. This time I had laboured without an epidural so they did a spinal block. For me it was so much better, I had no feeling whatsoever and even the tugging / pulling seemed less with the spinal than with the epi.

Hi, i had my first c-section with our 5th bub in december 2007,they gave me a spinal block and i didn`t feel a bloody thing ,thank god,but i was very nervous about it,i did suffer some burning down my left hand side for a few weeks after though.