Could you ask for an epidural AFTER you've given birth?

[morningpaper]

After giving birth drug-free, could you ask for an epidural AFTERWARDS before they start on the Bayeux Tapestry?

I've spoken to several people who have had drug-free births and horrendous experiences of being stitched up. Would you be given an epidural if you asked for it AFTER you've given birth?

I was Given a general to be stiched up because thats what they said I shoud have I had just gas and air through birth

I thought you could have what you wanted now within reason

why would you prefer an epi over a local? I had an epidural with my first labour and really disliked the 'paralysed from the waist down' aspect of it, and the whole needle in spine thing. With some people it goes wrong and they end up with permanent back problems. Surely a local would be preferable? (but then I don't know anything about stitches, feel free to ignore me)

haven't read the whole thread but god i know what you mean morningpaper.

coped well with drug free birth, didn't feel overwhelmed at any point, but when the butcher and her assistant were torturing me with stirrups, tampons, stitches etc afterwards i would have given anything for painrelief. didn't think i was going to be able to cope, especially as they barged in to do it when dp was out ringing grandparents so i couldn't even squeeze his hand

eve2005- you mention tampons, now i was sure a bloody midwife had tried to insert a tampon, but everyone i mentioned it to said they had never heard of them using them, i remember the midwife saying they were using it to see where the blood was coming from? pretty obvious id imagine! this was right after id had dd, before i was taken to theatre for repair, so why do they use tampons? i convinced myself i imagined it..............

I had an epidural after I gave birth with DS. I had a PPH and they couldn't work out exactly where all the bleeding was coming from. AFter they tried to investigate in the deliveryt suite (with local anesthetic) I was unable to cope and so off I went into theatre to be stiched up for the next two hours.

The weirdest thing was discovering my legs were doing the splits - probably explains why I had quite a lot of pain after birth .

have had an epidural, it was the most revolting experience of my life. Distressed me far more than the birth!

I have a needle phobia, which didn't help, knowing they were inserting one into my spinal column.

i loved my spinal block, i was in so much pain after the birth that it was a lovely relief, iv decided i want another 1 to sort out my in-growing toenail

nope, they definitely shoved a tampon up coz i was bleeding so much they wanted to see how much of it was from the tears and how much was internal. horrendous.

yep, even the thought of it now makes me cringe, bloody barbaric!

i've never whimpered in my life before but i did for that, mw looked sympathetic and even flinched once or twice but evil, up herself 20-something doctor obviously had not gone through the experiance of childbirth as she couldn't seem to understand why i was in so much pain after not needing drugs for the birth. b*h!

wanted to kick her in the head but they'd put my feet in stirrups and i couldn't reach. wasn't even offered local or gas and air, very of those who were.

shoved a tampon up me too . No pain relief for major stitch-up after 41 hr labour. Horrendous. not sure what was worse, the labour or stitches.

And they discovered the gas and air wasn't connected properly AFTER my stitches. I was sucking away on the bloody thing throughout the whole ordeal

yeah they did the tampon thing, and examined me with no pain relief, until id had enough and told them they wasnt going to pull me about any more, the surgeon then came to examine me with gas and air thank god, and decided i needed to go to theatre, i can honestly say that being examined and the tampon thing were much worse than labour and the actual birth.

did i mention that they used the wrong stitches too, the ones that don't bby well dissolve! was in agony, one tore due to swelling after 2 days and that side(they were labial stitches) was fine soon after but the other side never came out, was in agony unable to sit, stand, walk or lie in any other position other than on my back with legs bent for three weeks til i took a nail scissors to it (not an experiance i'd recommend!). pain subsided the next day, bt*ds!

oh god that sounds awful, cant believe it! you didnt go to the homerton hospital by any chance did you? its enough to make me think dd will be an only child, at least for a while!

unfortunately my no 2 is due in august so better brace myself

no, over in the boglands of western ireland here, hence beng too afraid to go back and demand they take the stitches out as i'd probably have gotten th same doctor knowing my luck!

F*cking hell, Eve! That sounds crap. I'd have jumped the couch over that until they coughed up the dope.

the ridiculous thing is i still loved my natural, drug free birth! just wish they could knock me out right after

i had a drug free birth. not by choice, tho. i got there too close to delivery.

if there were a next time, i'd go dope all the way. i'm a wuss.

my husband is an anaesthetist. He's sitting right here and he says "no, you can't"