Amazing epidural birth on OBEM has seriously tempted me...

[ahhhhhpushit]

With DS I had no pain relief, 9lb back-to-back brow presentation baby, loooooong pushing stage (hours) and borderline 3rd degree tear.

I did ok.

BUT oh my goodness last night's OBEM had an epi birth that was amazing!! She pushed totally fine (not being able to push is the thing that puts me off) and was singing as she did it!!!!!

So I'm sitting here thinking to myself why oh why would I put myself through all that pain again? Come to think of it why did I put myself through all that pain in the first place??!!!

Anyone have an epidural and not end up with forceps??? Everyone I bloody know who had a epi ended up with forceps or c-section. It really scares me...

Actually have reviewed studies on Cochrane database and it does seem that although the risk of needing augmentation is increased with epidurals, it's not as much as I thought - this is probably down to the use of low dose epidurals which don't slow labour down as much as the old style ones where you got a very complete motor block.

However, it's normal to secure IV access before an epidural is started, and most women will have a drip.

"Trust me, the novety wears off after 28 hours for most of us!"

2 of my 3 labours were longer than this. The one mostly spent in hospital would have been intolerable without an epidural. The one mostly spent at home with an independent midwife was bearable, even though it went on longer than the first and was just as painful. I only transferred in for synto for the last 4 hours, having been stuck at 8cm for the previous 12 hours..... I really do think for me hospitals make long labours pretty much unbearable. It feels very different to go through that in your own environment, with your midwife lolling around on the bottom of your bed, or making you cups of tea in your kitchen!

My most recent friend who's given birth had an epidural and had no forceps/tear.

She thinks it was the perineal massage that helped...I've got the massage oil but not started using it yet, will be 35 wks next week so perhaps then...

She's telling me to absolutely go for the epidural and not delay asking for it. I can imagine if I'm not progressing and in a lot of pain I will want one, but at the same time if I can avoid it, I'd really like to...particularly if it's more likely to lead to forceps and an episiotomy.

In response to marchmallow ost above, I doubt that perineal massage would have any bearing on whether forceps (or any other assisted delivery - ie ventouse) would be necessary. It is only likely to possible reduce the chance of an external tear in crowning. Forceps are required to get baby down birth canal if the baby is in poor position or pushing is ineffective. You can't easily prepare pre-labour for that.
If you have a big baby bump perineal massage is virtually impossible to achieve! Your best chance of minimising a tear is to have a very controlled crown - but it's quite circumstantial.

I've had four epidurals, one for an ELCS, the other three were just the same as the birth on OBEM pushed them out without any difficulty and one was back to back.

I had my first baby 6 weeks ago. Before the labour I had been very anti-the thought of an epidural and the intervention cascade it would surely invite.

I don't think I understood for a moment the effect exhaustion has on pain thresholds! My labour kicked off suddenly at home with epic breaking of waters and contractions were immediate, strong, and frequent. Tried baths in the hospital which initially helped then made me feel really sick; tried gas and air which made me want to vomit-hated it. I was so exhausted and opted for epidural in the end. Knew all the risks and negatives and yet there I was at 7cm, signing the consent form in crazed manner mid contractions.

Long story short, it was brilliant. A huge calm descended on me and on the room and I got to 10cm so quick. Waited an hour to push to let it wear off a bit (no synto for me either), and I could feel when to push. Pushed for an hour and DD was born with no other intervention. No stitches or tear. I was on a complete, euphoric high when she was born and bonded straight away.

I was incredibly lucky. If I do it again I'd still hope to try without epidural. In the cold light of day the reasons for not wanting one still make sense to me- but you just can't predict how you'll feel when the time comes.

I had awesome espidural birth, could feel contractions as tightenings so knew exactly when to push, felt baby move down and turn which was miraculous, found pushing very effective. Excellent time had by all. Brilliant.

But:
numb patch on leg still 2 years later (gives me absolute horrors)
terrible shakes coming off it

PS had synto; also tore as essentially pushed too fast (there was some concern about baby's heartbeat and I took the midwife's instruction 'We need to get this baby out fast' rather too literally.)

I had an epidural. I was induced with syntocinon. I would have loved to have gone into labour naturally - and I feel if I had it would have been a very different experience - but because I had pre-eclampsia I was induced 2 weeks early.

I felt my body wasn't ready yet to give birth, and the syntocinon had a brutal effect. No space between contractions. I was an absolute writhing wreck- body in spasms, passing out, G&A having no effect whatsoever on the pain. After the epidural, I progressed quickly to 10cm, waited an hour and then pushed. Yes, I had a ventouse delivery and stitches but I healed up very quickly. I bonded with DD immediately and was breastfeeding her within half an hour of birth.

I'm definitely having an epidural next time. Unless I can go into labour naturally, which is very unlikely.

I have some medical complications which means i have to be induced at 36 weeks and have to have an epidural in place before induction.

1st birth (early 90's) they gave you so much epidural it could have knocked out an elephant ... they cut me but no forceps - still couldn't feel my legs 12 hours later.

2nd Birth (early 00's) was a wonderful experience. I could walk about and still slightly feel the pain. Baby was delivered 'naturally' with no tear. I was up bouncing around within a few minutes of birth.

They tried five times to give me an epidural. None of them worked on me. I am immune to epidurals.

Just saying

FaneFeyre - ah, that sounds like a lovely birth. That's the kind of epidural I'd like :)

The thought of a 'numb patch on leg', though...argh! LuckyC - is there anything they can do for it? Will it wear off eventually?

I just got induced this past week and ended up whimpering for an epidural instead of doing the natural birth I'd hoped for. I got too wobbly-legged for most positions and had to push on my back while holding onto my thighs with my hands. Had a little assistance with ventouse and small cut, but still delivered vaginally and it worked out OK. Baby seems absolutely fine and my recovery has been fast. Obviously I don't know how it feels to do a non-epi birth, but I adored the baby right away and she latched on and fed like a champ from the start, so it was all fine in the end.

I'd like to avoid one this time round if possible. i didn't like being catheterised and having drip in my hand etc.

i did go into labour spontaneously, my waters went quite early on so i maybe ended up in hospital too soon. DS was in a weird position and labour wasn't progressing, so i was advised to have syntocinon and epi.

it was all a bit of a blur after that, didn't enjoy being stuck on the bed being monitored. ended up with c section in the end.

33wks with no 2 and hoping it's a bit smoother this time...