epidural at 3cm. Am I a wimp?

[jujumum78]

DS2 was born last week and I hoped to go natural as far as possible after a difficult induced first labour with DS1. However at 3cm I was bawling my eyes out and asking for epidural. (Unfortunately I ended up with an accidental spinal block instead and lay paralysed from waist down for 4 hours.)

I know we all have different rates of pain endurance but has anyone else caved as quickly as me? My friend got to 9cm before asking for an epidural. Tell me ladies how do you do it????

Congratulations on the birth of your baby. Fact is that we all experience pain differently and lots of things affect that experience. Depending on the position of the baby, some labours just hurt more so no you are not a wimp at all.
I was in agony at 1cm because my baby had a non engaged head which was trying to engage. My friend got to 8cms before having just gas and air and another friend had nothing.
We are all different and some labours hurt more.

fairylea my labour was exactly like yours! In fact I didn't realise at first what I was experiencing were contractions, as there were no breaks between them. Until I read your post I haven't met anyone who had the same experience.
I had an epidural, after 8 hours of what felt like constant pain.
I'm 28 weeks with DC2 and really hoping for a better experience this time.

I am very scared of not being able to feel and really didn't want an epidural.

First birth was agony for hours and hours. In fact despite my fear I nearly had one .

Second labour didn't hurt until the last half an hour. Honestly. ... As someone else said it depends on the position of the baby.

I don't think the amount of pain you experience is just about how dilated you are. I had a sweep this morning and they told me I'm 4cm. But i haven't really had any pain, just the occasional twinge, nothing close to bad period pain.

I was screaming and begging for an epidural before I reached 3cm with my first. I have never experienced pain like it.

My 2nd and 3rd babies were nearly born without a midwife as I was waiting for my pain to get near to that level before going in. It never ever did.

I concluded that with my first I had an undx back to back birth (they thought I was in transition on arrival I was making so much fuss, though only 2 and a bit dilated).

My experience tells me that not only are women different, but so are labours and your level of pain that you report should absolutely be listened to.

I never got my epidural for no.1 btw as the MW didn't take me seriously, but I absolutely should have. I suffered PTSD as a result and if you had not been given an epidural when you needed it, you may have too.

Please don't feel a failure. That's just ridiculous IME.

I had an epidural with dc1 at 6cm but had been demanding one from 2cm. They made me try paracetamol! And pethadine first. Not what I wanted at all and I'm still cross about it! My contractions were also endless, no gap in between. Noone believes me when I say that but it was bloody unbearable. I'm 32 weeks with dc2 and unfortunately my consultant has written all over my notes I'm not allowed an epidural again as we're hoping I can avoid further damage to perenium. I'm really really worried about what ill do if the pain is the same level, and for as long. You're not a wimp at all, I felt like I was being torn in half for the 8 hours they made me wait x

I don't doubt I was a nusiance, but I always asked reasonable questions and I was never rude (would they have ever have let that SALT do that if she was in danger/at risk!?)

I wrote them a SLA at one point of what I thought should be the model of delivery I got so sick of asking them what/how/why without getting answers. The Head of SALT informed me that I didn't run her service .

Looking back I cannot believe my front actually, but things were so shit I had absolutely nothing to lose by being clear about the service I expected.

Oops, wrong thread.....

We have a friend who is an abdominal surgeon so he read up on the effectiveness of epidural and discovered it is most effective if administered between 3-4 cm, apparently. So well done! Bang on!
It bloody hurts. For DC1 I had epidural at 4 cm, after a day and a half of painful contractions. Had been begging for it for ages! For DC2 time ran out and I didn't get one grrrr

DD was induced. Had an epidural at about 5cms or so. Just didn't feel good, felt totally unable to cope. Was on my back in a bed, hooked up to monitors etc.

DS was a natural birth. I was in a pool, in a great position. I was able to rock back and forward and DH poured lovely warm water over my back during the contractions, really took my mind off it. It was painful but totally manageable. Felt like an amazon.

I am sure that with DS the water helped me beyond belief. I felt miserable as sin before I got in at 4cms, could hardly move, was really painful. The water allowed me to move around without having to support myself it was great.

I had DS 2 weeks ago with just gas and air, he was very very fast second stage lasted 4 minutes and I begged the midwife to just kill me the entire way through. If I ever planned to have another I would beg for a section rather than go through labour again.

According to this study, you are typical of first time mums OP!

"Midwifery 2013;29(4):284-93.
Findings: a total of 174 nulliparae and 49 multiparae received epidural analgesia during labour. Nulliparae received it at a medium time of 5.47 hrs (range: 0.25-51.17 hrs) after onset of labour, at a median cervical dilatation of 3.3 cm (range: 1.0-10.0 cm). In multiparae, epidural analgesia was applied at a median time of 3.79 hrs (range; 0.42-28.55 hrs) after onset of labour; the median cervical dilatation was 3.0 cm (range: 1.0-8.0 cm). Women who were admitted with advanced cervical dilatation received epidural analgesia less often. Women who defined their onset of labour earlier than it was diagnosed by their midwives received epidural anagesia earlier. Gastrointestinal symptoms and irregular pain at the onset of labour were associated with later administration of epidural analgesia. Induction of labour was associated with a reduced interval from the onset of labour to epidural analgesia. Key conclusions: women's self-diagnosis of the onset of labour and their perception of their labour duration when meeting their midwives has some impact on their admission to the labour ward and the timing of epidural analgesia. Implications for practice: consideration of women's own perceptions and expectations regarding the onset and process of labour is necessary for individual care during labour.