AIBU - to be really pissed off that epidurals are being restricted?

[christmasmum]

Was just reading an article in Mother and Baby magazine saying that epidurals are classed as an 'abnormal birth' and that they should be restricted in the future to avoid women having caesareans.

What is this all about? Why should women not be free to make their own decision on pain relief, while being aware of the risks involved in every form of pain relief? And is it not the case that women having diffcult births in the first place are more likely to BOTH have an epidural AND end up having a c-section anyway??

Before giving birth to my DD I bought into all the information from the NCT, books and magazines etc and was determined to go for a 'natural' birth. I ended up being induced and despite being told by every woman I have ever spoken to who has been induced, that I should have an epidural the midwife advised me that I would not need one. After 10 hours of intense contractions and finding out I was a huge 2cm dilated I decided enough was enough and had an epidural.

I was instantly relaxed and started to actually enjoy the process, 2 1/2 hours later (despite the consultant arriving to prep me for a c-section) I found out I was fully dilated and delivered my wee girl after 5 minutes of pushing to a room that was full of people laughing and singing Christmas carols.

I obviously only have my own experience to go by but I am absolutely convinced that the relaxing effect of being out pain helped me deliver my baby naturally.

What is this pressure on women to be in pain and suffering to be 'real women'. And why is that every new Dad I've spoken to with wives who did not have pain releif seem so proud of them? Is this just another example of male oppression of women? Even subliminally??

AAGGGHHHHH. Rant over.

no i agree.. which is why i personally never tell people that it will jsut be some discomfort.. we talk about the pain in realistic terms and about pain relief choices, from music and massage to epidural and everthing in between

that is a reason i did not do the NCT teaching course, as i get so much negative feedback re NCT and peoples expectations and then experience of labour

if women want to try to manage their labour without drugs then i will support them to do that, but we always have a plan B , C, D etc..

it is unfair to mock women for wanting to manage without drugs. just as it is unfair to castigate women who wnat an epdiraul .

LTOS, I do think that pain and bad experiences in labour can be a taboo.

And I think that some (most?) midwives see a drug free natural birth as the gold standard, as do the NCT.

This riles me.

The gold standard is a safe Mum and baby, and a HAPPY Mum - however she delivers.

LTOS, I agree that women shouldn't be told that it's not going to hurt either.

It would be good if antenatal teachers could somehow manage to cover both possibilities...

And I also agree with Unicorn that sniggering at those who hope for non-medicalised births is pointless and a bit unpleasant.

Pain relief should be a right in a civilised society.To argue anything else is plain cruel.

i thikn that antenatal classes where you are not allowed to ,or are looked donw on for discussing those things are utterly wrong

c.section rates are pushing upwards of 25 % .. so you have a 1 in 4 chance of needing a section. so not talking about it is plain silly

I'm not sniggering at them. I'm saying that because of this NHS/NCT "drug free natural birth as the gold standard" they are allowed to continue in their unfortunate naivety. There bubble will be burst, like mine was. But by then the NHS have save £500. Resultado.

But some women will find that aromatherapy and music relaxes them, and contributes to a positive birth experience. (Not me, I had no wish for either.)

I mean, if that's all that someone takes away from an antenatal class then I agree with you that the class must have been shite. But if they come away with aromatherapy/music as one of a wide array of possible approaches to labour pain, then that's fair enough.

They would be a minority. But we are led to believe that it is a serious method of dealing with the pain.

but it's not naivety

women can and do manage without pain relief.

some women make an infomred choice to do so

That's my view too unicorn.

Personally, I like to know everything that can happen, so that I am prepared if those things are necessary. Makes it easier to cope with.

Then if those things are not necessary you feel really lucky that you didn't need them.

Ditto pain, I would rather be told it could well be extremely painful, so that I know. Then if it isn't I can count myself lucky and feel great. But if it is very painful the whole thing doesn't come as a terrible shock.

I don't mind if people just want wafts of gardenia and hooting owls. All power to 'em. But I do mind if people ask for epidurals and the midwife or whoever doesn't organise one as she "thinks", in her autocratic way, that someone could do without and in fact should do without.

anything that works to help with the pain is fine by me

short of a full block epidural that is regularly topped up or a GA< you are going to experience pain in childbirth

for some women, a holisitic approach is the right one. for some, the full block epi is the right one

saying one is better or more worthy of being called 'pain relief' is splitting hairs

for some women, massage, music, breathing excercises are their forms of pain relief. if it works for them, it is 'serious' pain relief

agree that it should be told to women as part of a whoel gamut of pain relief options

pain relief should not begin and end with opiates / epidural

They shouldn't be cornered into feeling they should make an informed choice to deal with the pain. As though, if they were just educated a bit more, then they could be 'managed' into choosing no pain relief.

It's just too convenient for the NHS that this scary mindset is taking hold.

OOI, what are the effects of epidurals on breastfeeding rates? And what are the stats about further interventions?

Just in case anyone fancies Googling that for me...

Ditto Spam.
I expected labour to be very painful. It was, but I actually discovered I was able to cope. And without aromatherapy! Result! Still, the first time around I had to cope, as they wouldn't give me an epidural.

PW, actually I can't be bothered goggling , but here in Italy use of epidural is linked to lower rate of c sections.

You just can't get the staff these days

I'm cooking dinner PW . I'm busy ... and nervously waiting for the elections results (depressed)

I've got no probs with women who want whale music and joss sticks, that's up to them.

What I have got a problem with is women asking for epidurals and being told they can't have one and having to do it with whale music and joss sticks...

That is more or less exactly what I said at 17.27

It was so good LT I thought it bore repetition

Ha ha. Trouble is, with all the most contentious subjects (drug free v drug rich, bf v ff, BLW v purees, SAHM vs working - forgotten the acronym, etc etc) one tends to find that so many people seem to want just to IMPEL others to do as they have done. Can someone tell me why that is? I have made the decisions that were right for me, hopefully intelligently! I wouldn't force them on others. What's the point? Different strokes for different folks. I know it doesn't make for an interesting discussion but that's how I feel. Am I too laid back? Am I being unreasonable for being reasonable?

Well... in this case, it's because some people think that epidurals have serious negative effects - more serious than the trauma associated with going through a painful birth without an epidural. (I'm not saying that they do - it's my impression that they do, but I could be wrong or out-of-date - hence my wish for someone with more knowledge to furnish me with the stats.)

In fact, that's the rough explanation for most of the disputes you list, I think. People argue about them because, one way or the other, they think that taking a certain course of action has positive or negative effects - and when those effects (real or imagined) are on children (who can't decide for themselves and don't have any say in the matter), you can't expect everyone to stand on the sidelines and take a laissez-faire attitude.

"Someone further back said it was the NCT pushing the policy. Nuff said."

I'm an NCT teacher and I have no awareness of the NCT being involved in any initiative to reduce women's choices in childbirth.

If I found out that this was happening at my local hospital I'd be at the next maternity services liaison committee (who are involved in planning maternity services and setting protocols locally - I sit on the committee as a user rep) complaining very loudly.

For all the bitching you get about the NCT I could guarantee you that in every branch I know, you'd have loads of NCT mums who'd be making a very big, unhappy noise about epidurals being restricted, and drumming up local support for women to have full access to all forms of pain relief.

On a personal note, I needed an epidural with my first as my labour was very long. I had no problem in getting one. When I had my second and my third babies I was desperate to avoid having another epidural, as my babies were very large - I really, really didn't want to end up with another assisted birth with a large baby, as I suspect it would have meant kissing goodbye to my pelvic floor for good. For me to have had confidence that I could cope without an epidural, what I needed was guaranteed one to one care from a midwife I had confidence in. Unfortunately this meant I had to pay for it myself, as one to one care isn't available for women who don't have access to our local birthcentre (I didn't because I was high risk).

Yes well only someone who has never experienced the pain og childbirth A MAN would even suggest thus