To feel vindicated by the D of H report, which confirms midwives are withholding epidurals?

[RevolutionofourTime]

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/mar/03/women-in-labour-being-refused-epidurals-official-inquiry-finds

I was denied pain relief during my first labour for no reason whatsoever. When I complained to the head of midwifery, she encouraged me to try a home birth next time. 🤨 I have also witnessed other women in maternity ward being denied pain relief.

Despite this, I have seen it argued here time and again that midwives are not acting as gatekeepers or withholding proper pain relief in labour.

This report confirms what many of us know.

I will be curious to see if this will lead to changes- more specifically, to adherence to the Nice guidelines that it’s never too early and never too late for an epidural in labour.

Another one here who got the “anaesthetist is busy” excuse when I had DD2. DP and I are convinced it was because I was relatively “quiet” in labour, not screaming or crying - so I suspect midwife thought “this one will be all right without.” Just because I wasn’t screaming didn’t mean I was coping - the only thing in my birth plan was “give me an epidural.”

I was denied an epidural. I was told it was too late. I had been asking since I got there, and they kept telling me "we'll get that sorted" then told me it was to Kate after about 6 hours of me waiting. I then asked for the diamorphine stuff and she left the room and no one came in for half an hour; my mum was there by that time so she went to find her and she was sitting having a cup of tea.
I've never made any complaint about and it was 8 and a half years ago so too late to say anything now but I really was furious.

Some midwives seem to seriously hate women.

But all those things can happen anyway.

There are any number of reasons that a birth could take excessively long times or why the stay is longer than usual. Its what one in 4 that end up in a section?

Stress can also be a factor. Being left for hours or refused pain relief and generally being useless causes that.

And as for being active and upright? Well they keep you flat on the bed with those belt things so they dont have to observe you or talk to you.

Maybe if pain relief wasn't refused so much women might actually be able to cope more without epidurals. Because they had the chance to build up to it rather than be left without so much as a paracetamol and unable to move.

Not that they should have to cope without them of course.

There should be the choice.

I just mean that pain management is so shit and care is so shit that instead of being able to increase things gradually accordingly to help you cope and maybe feeling you can carry on without one you are just left...

This thread makes shocking reading. I had both my babies in France where you have an appointment with the anaesthetist as part of your antenatal care - to check your weight etc and see if there might be any problems administering one. In France it is assumed you will want one - though you are perfectly free to manage without if you so choose. I had a slightly anxious conversation with mine having heard so many stories (mainly from NCT chums) that they slow labour down and lead to intervention. His view was that the British approach to childbirth was Victorian. On both occasions I was offered - and gladly accepted - epidurals at the earliest possible opportunity and had two fairly speedy labours (7 and 5 hours respectively) with no intervention. IMO administering pain relief should be the default position - it would be if men had babies - suffering should be optional. At the moment it is the other way round. Shame on Britain!

This is shocking! I have to be honest and say I never experienced anything like this.
On my first I was induced and when I was in the drip I started vomiting, it was obvious I wasn’t coping and I was offered an epidural. I had a midwife shift change half way through and both midwives were just lovely and didn’t leave my side.

On my second, I was very high risk. It became obvious I would have to be induced at 35 wks, I told my consultant I didn’t want to be induced and asked for ELCS. He said he would discuss it at our next t appointment. By the next appointment he just agreed. He was an amazing consultant.

The pre natal carw I had on both my children was amazing. The post natal ward first time around wasn’t great but second time it was much better x

It should be a woman’s choice . It’s never too early or late ( some women may be fully dilated up to four hours before they deliver ) - although if labour progresses quickly delivery may occur before the epidural is fully effective .

A quick Google search confirms links between epidurals and assisted deliveries / EMCS (I don't have the time now to read and ratify the sources) but I thought that was quite common knowledge?

I believe in choice, but you have to appreciate that certain choices come with risks and certain choices (home births and MW led centres) rule out* other choices (epidurals).

• rule out and / or make them less accessible.

I was denied epidural every time I gave birth. Across every labour, I was lied to continuously as to the various reasons I couldn't have one, then it was 'too late', other times it was their preference that I would have a 'lovely natural birth', another time it was simply 'no.'

I was also turned away from the labour ward despite being in active labour, and this has happened to many women I know- this is so that staff can turn around and say that they've passed the threshold for epidural when they finally are admitted.

I've addressed this on here with a midwife on an AMA who denied this happens, but I'm no liar. I also addressed it at a midwife appointment during my last pregnancy, I wanted reassurance that I could have an epidural if I wanted. Of course, I was told. It happened again and this time they tried to take the gas and air away from me as well.

Some midwives find begging for an epidural highly amusing, btw. One tried to get my birth partner to laugh along with her.

@Sagradafamiliar why did they take the gas and air away? This is the second time I have read it now and I'm curious what the reason was.

Could you imagine being told we'll just do your hip replacement without anaesthetic as no one is available.
I'm appalled reading these stories and feel better about my elective c sections to be perfectly honest.

Sorry, why did the try to take it away?

*I'd want to avoid a needle in my spine to be honest.

A friend of mine leaked CSF after and had crippling headaches and needed them patched in theatre a few weeks later. She couldn't care for her baby into that time*

I had this too, and it was the most crippling pain I have ever experienced - far worse than the labour pains from my induction. I actually thought my MW was too keen to push the epidural and deeply regretted it after - I will always blame it for ending up with EMCS (although it's probably unrelated - and more likely caused by the failed induction speeding up contractions to five in ten mins with almost no break) and would have preferred a bit more reluctance to issue it until I said I was ready, I did feel it was forced on me a bit by them
Saying if I was going to have it I may as well have it early.

FWIW,

DC1 - I was laughed at when I refused an epidural (augmented labour, stalled at 7cm so was put on drip and waters broken). The consultant who oversaw the drip being administered replied to my refusal of the EPI with "I'll see you in an hour when you are begging for it"

DC3 was a planned induction at 38w and every member of staff I spoke to during the 22h I had the pessary in assumed I'd be having / needing an EPI

My hospital seemed very happy to 'hand them out'

You CANNOT have epidural in a maternity centre where women are encouraged to give birth instead of hospitals. That tells you all you need to know about the subject. It's a disgrace.

My third, was induced via drip, baby was back to back, I'd been nil by mouth since the day before because they thought I'd need a c section. I actually passed out from the pain when I asked for an epidural they said no because it would slow things down too much.

A quick Google search confirms links between epidurals and assisted deliveries / EMCS

but which way does it go? Are women more likely to beg for pain relief because the birth is not going so well and they will need assisted delivery... your body is telling you something!

I wasn't given enough pain relief either. My midwives even took the gas and air off me as I "wasn't trying hard enough."

They made me get off all fours and lie on my back even though I told them it was too painful.

She was back to back and stuck with a shoulder dystocia.

I had an ELCS for the second one.

@auslass they said I needed to concentrate more. I was trying to push out a back to back 10 pounder, the gas and air was helping me focus so I snatched it back out of her hands.

Reading these horrible, unnecessary experiences in the UK really makes me want to kiss the Australian dirt here.
I simply asked for an epidural and had one administered, as did every single other friend or woman I have spoken to in the subject of childbirth, if they so chose.
The NHS is, frankly, barbaric and there idea that it’s simply ok for women to suffer because ‘the system is stretched shrug’ is the most sexist tripe I’ve ever heard.
How about the NHS is challenged to find these resources by removing the Anaethatist resourcing to appendectomies for males? I bet that would speed along the funding.

My lovely SIL and BIL (her DH) are both doctors and she's given birth to five children, none were c-section. She gave me the best advice ever when I started TTC, "Get the bloody epidural!" (she followed it up with a detailed analysis of why it's worth getting the epidural but I mostly remember that emphatic statement of advice).

It was drilled into me when I opted for a home birth that there wasn't anything stronger than G&A available.

On call midwife was late getting to me after a wobbly start, by which time I was trying to scream for the MW but they weren't there. I went from 3 to 8 cms in 2 hours, was told that I was using "too much G&A" then "not enough", though I suspect it had run out.
After no pain relief and 2 hours of transition with no urge to push, I was put in the back of an ambulance, at 10 cms. I was made to walk to the ambulance in the middle of winter.
Paramedics ran me over the f*ing cobbles outside the Maternity Unit.
2 more hours, at 10cms, then Consultant, (bitch from hell), stood over me and said " If you don't push this baby out I'll use these" (higher forceps).
I had no contractions, no urge to push and was made to purple push after an episiotomy.
The baby did not move, and with the institutional belief that I wasn't trying, I ended up pushing without contractions. If they looked at DH, his shoulders are really wide, I'm really small, it's not a huge leap to see there could be issues.
I ended up with a 4 th degree tear, being whisked straight to surgery, & a more senior Surgeon was called to put me back together again.
I only remember thinking, At least I' m not dead
I know they screwed up as I saw, every Dr, MW, Nursey Nurse, and professional before anyone else and was kept in for 4 days. I shuffled not walked afterwards. They were ultra cautious.
I complained to the Head of Gynaecology about the Consultant and was told, It's OK she has left.
Words fail me. It traumatised me and DH, so when we thought we recovered from that, it was too late to try for another.
Shit maternity staff have denied me a bigger family.