Epidural experiences?

[LittleRedRidingHoodie]

I'm 33 weeks and starting to get quite jittery about the prospect of the birth. I'm doing hypnobirthing, for what it's worth, and would like a water birth all being well. However I'm well aware that I can be doing all the relaxation and floating about in water I like and still be in flippin agony.

Everything I read seems to be advising against epidural due to the slowing down of labour, risk of interventions etc. I really, really don't fancy pethidine etc. as I don't like my head feeling 'out of it.'

I'm in a lot of pain already with sacroiliac joint dysfunction and subluxated ribs and the thought of being in greater pain is terrifying me. I'd love to hear your real life epidural experiences, good or bad. Would you have one again?

"Despite all my friends having had babies, not one of them had an epidural"

That may not be true.

It's normal and reasonable that you will go into your first labour not wanting an epidural, I would think that is true for a large proportion of women. But don't discount or worry about having an epidural if you want it in the event of giving birth.

Much of your birth and what you have planned for the first 12 months of your baby's life will not go the way you are currently planning.

This learning curve is just the nature of being a first time Mum.

splash15 The epidural didn't work when I had my first but as fine (brilliant in fact) for my second.

Correction: The epidural didn't work when I had my first but *was fine (brilliant in fact) for my second.

I'm not saying my friends all had gas and air and had blissful experiences! On the contrary, they have had some awful experiences between them including prolapses, needing a hysterectomy etc. the ones that went wrong ended up with induction and caesareans. And most of them went wrong!

I had an epidural with DD1. Wanting to avoid another one was a big factor in pushing me towards homebirth for no. 2 and no.3.

For many people, they are great.

For me, it was shit. It technically 'worked' but there was some form of deep nerve pain or something it didn't deal with, so it worked for a few hours and then, despite being totally numb in my legs, I was in a lot of 'internal' pain. I ended up with gas and air on top.

My poor DD was back to back, flat on my back and unable to move she ended up totally wedged, and I had forceps and episiotomy.

Don't get me wrong, the other labours still hurt like holy hell, but they were preferable and actually quite positive. I look back on those ones fondly.

That said, the reason I had an epidural with DD1 was because they wanted to start me on the drip, and in that situation I'd probably have still made the same decision, even knowing the risks things would pan out the same. But for straightforward 'I can't cope with the pain', for me gas and air and water were way more effective. Oh, and yelling, yelling helped a lot.

I ended up with a epidural after my plans for a home birth fell through. I needed to be induced after losing lots of blood clots so they put me straight on the drip. did 4 hours on that just gas & air till I was exhausted. I was dead against having one but there was no way I would have had the energy to push if I'd have carried on. The pain is bare able, I think, even on the drip... The thing that is unbearable in no break between contractions, really really exhausting. I did hypnobirthing like you and it helped so much. I kept calm throughout and managed to push baby out in 13 mins. So even if you have an epidural it will come in handy! d

My epidural was fabulous. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

I don't know why they get such a bad press - I know more people with epidurals get complications, but I suspect part of that is some of them are the people with more complicated labours (baby not presenting ideally etc) who might have needed more interventions anyway.

How old are you? And what do the first births on your maternal line look like? If you're above 35 then a prolonged second stage might already be on the cards. You might want to lower the risks by not having an epidural.
If your mother and maternal grand-mother's first labours where ok(no interventions) and you're in your mid twenties, an epidural might be ok.
I had an epidural at dilation 5 (between 4 and 8 is the recommendation). It worked well (a little too well possibly, I had to have a midwife to deal with my left leg as it was completely floppy). Best to know 1 in 8 epidurals don't work and some only partially work (one side numb by not the other one for example). I'd also check risks associated with epidurals (headache).
Anyway. I went from grunting and vomiting, only able to think "I need to breathe as deeply and slowly as I can" (to avoid hyperventilation) to feeling nothing and have normal conversations with people. It was really going from one extreme to the other.
Eventually I had a prolonged second stage and a horrendous outcome for me (2 failed ventouse, episiotomy, forceps, severe PPH-result= unrepaired 2d degree tear, feacal incontinent, prolapse and therefore unable to walk for 1/2 a mile for 3 months, horrendous coccyx pain-unable to drive 11 months on).
Having said that I'm not sure anyone can completely rule it out because some women have extremely long labours and anyone can deal with pain for a bit but who knows after 10 or 20 hours?
If you are induced or the contractions augmented you might not bare with the pain but then you might (I know both women who could bare it with an induction and no epidural and women who couldn't and asked for an epidural). I think have a Bear Grylls type birth partner is essential. They should help you breathe.
Gas and air is definitely an option. I know women who have done really well on it (they were happy with the level of pain relief).
You might also want to consider how many children you (ideally) would like to have? If it's just the one after years of IVF for example and you're over 35, would you consider a planned c-section? If you conceived quickly and think you'd like 3/4 or more children and you're in your mid twenties? Aiming for a drug free vaginal birth is probably best, without completely ruling out the need for an epidural according to developments. Or you might make a quasi political choice and say, no, no epidural no matter what.

I hope this is useful. I wish all the best.

Omg thomasstockmann. That's the scariest post ever. You've suffered everything I most dread about birth.

I'm 38 and we conceived after 13 months naturally. I can't imagine I'll have another baby as I've been so disabled with this pregnancy. Signed off work since 20 weeks and barely able to move.

I have no idea how the births went on my mothers side as we don't have contact. My sister had two with gas and air in nine and six hours.

I didn't know older mums were more likely to have longer labours

I think, in reality, what will be will be. I'll start with my hypnobirthing, move to gas and air and see how I go. I want to feel the safety net of an epidural if I can't cope. I think having struggled with being in a great deal of unrelenting pain for the past 13 weeks my faith in how I manage pain has really dwindled.

I'm frightened of feeling alone in my pain and frightened of all the horrendous things (like you've suffered) that could be awaiting me.

I went in not wanting an epidural (wanted to be active, didn't want to be dead from the waist down) but was talked round to having one as I needed constant monitoring and despite the mw best efforts to let me remain active they kept losing the trace and I couldn't get comfy. I loved it. I had it put in after 17 hours of regular and sometimes back to back contractions. It worked strait away and you could just feel the tightenings just without the pain. It allowed me to sleep for a few hours however it did give me the worst crushing headache ever.

I did end up with a emcs but that was for other reasons. And although I had the epidural thee wasn't time to top it up and I needed a GA.

If I was to have another one if I felt I needed it I'd be open to one

How long did the headache last for and can you take a anything for it?

I just had paracetamol.

But epidural went in at 7pm ish and I had dd by general anaesthetic at 11:10pm so that's only a couple of hours with this cracking headache. But when I woke up I still had it but them I was started on loads of really strong pain killers cos of the section so that shifted it no problems

I had one that only worked on one side. The MW said that was useful as I could still feel something. However that something was searing pain with no urge to push. Eventually the agreed to fix the epidural, but only because they wanted to go for forceps. Do not the best experience.

I felt the same as you op, ended up being induced so since the water/active birth was out of the picture I went for epidural and it was amazing. I wouldn't hesitate again. I did about 14 hours of contractions and had the epi at 4cm. I ended up needing an emcs (unrelated to epi) and epi top up failed so had a spinal block. I didn't have a headache or any other side effects and could feel and move my legs the whole time.
See how you feel as you get closer, if you don't feel confident or feel scared then you could slow down your labour because of that anyway. good luck!

I'm sorry about SPD. I know it's very debilitating but have no experience of it myself.
Might be useful to say that labour pain is unique (well, it was for me). It was not a type of pain I had experienced before ie it didn't relate to any other sensation of pain I'd known. It obviously starts small and grows. I was expecting "high pitched" type pain like at the dentist. But no. It was dull pain radiating from my back onto my front. I also personally wouldn't call contractions contractions. The sensation I felt was that of stretching (not contracting). So dull pain and stretching sensation.
I really don't doubt you are currently in a lot of pain. All I'm trying to say is that labour pain will probably be a different type of pain.
Other posters might have other descriptions of contractions. I only went to 5 dilation so don't know what it's like until you're fully dilated.

Your sister's labours look really encouraging. Maybe gas and air and epidural as back up... ?

I totally get that labour pain will be different to spd/dislocated rib pain. It's just that I'm not handling this pain well at all now and the thought of worse pain is scaring me. I feel like I'm going into this birth already exhausted with having been in pain for such a long time. One of my friends said they imagined every woman who had given birth already rooting for her and being there with her - that sounds so reassuring and comforting.

GingerbreadPudding Sorry. Didn't mean to patronise by describing labour pain (I wish someone had done that for me before my labour) nor scare anyone with my childbirth.
Incidentally the only woman I know who suffered from SPD had an epidural-free vaginal birth. She managed on TENS and good support (was sent back home from hospital and ended up delivering baby at home-1st delivery ).
In my antenatal classes, we had been told about "continuous support" being better to avoid interventions. Having been through it, I can't emphasize that enough: someone who remains calm under pressure and verbally coaches you with encouragement is what you need. Like a cox on a rowing boat but gentler. (slight heads-up: this person might not be the father of your child )

We have a doula as I figured it would be good to have someone there who can be reassuring, experienced and help keep us both calm so that's good that you've read that too. I don't feel patronised at all, dont worry, it's good to hear what people who've been through it have to say. Thank you,

I had an epidural about 12 hours in (from first contraction) and definitely needed it by that point. DS took another 17 hours to be born so it probably did slow things down, but he was back to back.
I would have one again though.

For me the contractions felt like the intestine spasms I got when I had horrible food poisoning

I see what you mean about feeling alone in the pain, OP. I remember feeling completely trapped, it's a scary sensation.

GingerbreadPudding Your plan sounds great (father+doula).

Maybe a word on logistics once at the hospital. You'll first have to go through triage. That can be a difficult time because you should be in full labour at that point and therefore grunting/yelling with other people there (other couples, staff...). You're behind a curtain but it doesn't feel private. That's when doula, father and other birthing partners really can play a crucial role. Breathing with you, helping you with gas and air. At that point the midwife is the triage midwife and therefore dealing with all coming to triage (not just you).
You'll be there until they give you a room. It shouldn't be too long but it's still a little wait in a non-private environment.
Things pick up when you get to your room. You can really relax, turn all lights off and grunt as much as you like. A dedicated midwife should be with you from then on (although they may change when their shift is over). As well as gas and air, you can start trying the various devices (stool, birth ball...) until you find a comfortable position (if you're not having a water birth).

If you're dead set on an epidural, it should be the first thing you say at triage. That is because the anaesthetist may be busy and might not be able to come straight away (life saving interventions trump pain management I'm afraid) so if you're sure this is what you want, say it as early as possible so you're first on the list of the anaesthetist.

I'm really excited for all of you now. Let us know (in 3 months when baby starts sleeping through the night) what's happened. All the very best.

Three months Are you treading gently on that one.

I did about 14 hours at home with a doula and some paracetamol.

Then 7 hours in hospital in the water with paracetamol - gas and air didn't work for me, I was just very sick. I pushed for an hour and then got told on shift change that even though the midwife had told me I was 10cm and ready to push, I actually wasn't - was only 8cm.

They decided to use the synto to get that final 2cm happening quickly, to stop the baby getting distressed. I shouted a lot at that point and got an epidural. Well, I had to have a spinal first because it works more quickly and they had to stop 'me' pushing (I didn't have a choice, my body was just doing it for me and I couldn't resist), but then an epidural set up for me to click in to if I wanted it after a 2 hour spinal.

I slept for an hour or so, my partner came home for tea/toast/a cry (getting the spinal/epidural set up took a long time and I'd been pretty unhappy during those few hours, it was hard on him), and the doula had a sleep on a beanbag.

At 1.30 am they woke me up to push, I clicked the epidural button on the advice of the new midwife as the spinal was wearing off. I started pushing at 1.45, baby out by 2.13. That last bit of labour was lovely - relaxing and dare I say that cheesy word 'magical' - we were all chatting, there was laughing going on, and when she was born I was able to stop pushing when they told me to etc, which prevented worse tearing. I had a small tear which was stitched (the midwife said she wouldn't bother if I'd not already been anaesthetised in some way), and was walking an hour later.

If I had another kid, I'd opt for an epidural. I was SO adamant I didn't want one before this one, I was terrified of it. But in the end it was amazing.

I had one with DC1, went in at about 4cm dilated I think, and it was fan-bloody-tastic.

I had quite a complicated labour (distressed baby, lots of monitoring, possibility of Syntocin drip mentioned in early labour) and despite my best plans I just couldn't get in the zone to do all the deep breathing etc. DS was eventually hauled out with forceps in a bit of a panic, leading to a 3c tear for me. I don't know how much the epidural was a contributory factor, but I still don't regret it at all! My total labour was 13 hours and it progressed well.

In fact, I sometimes think that the "epidurals slow labour" chestnut confuses causation with correlation i.e. the labours would have been slow anyway, for the same reasons that make them more painful and make women more inclined to ask for epidurals. I did read something by an obstetrician on this point but can never find the link!

I agree with an earlier poster that if you think you might want one, get on the anaethetist's list as soon as you walk through the door. Also, be aware that at some hospitals, if you go down the water birth route that is "midwife led". If you change your mind midway through you then need to transfer to labour ward. I have heard of women being "persuaded" out of an epidural at that point. So worth checking what would happen at your hospital if you found yourself in that situation.

I had DD with no epidural, laboured for 48 hours and ended with ventouse as I was too exhausted to push properly. The only benefit I can see to not having one was that I got to go home after 3 hours! Currently pregnant with DC2 and pretty sure I will chose an epidural this time.

I concur with VertdeTerre about what causes a prolonged labour. When I had my debrief and obviously asked why I ended up with forceps (failed ventouse was either because a-they didn't know b-my baby had quite a lot of hair ), it became clear that they never know for sure. They said it could be exhaustion, failure of uterus to contract properly, my age, the epidural or all of the above. So yes an epidural is sometimes probably a catch 22.

Forgot about some positives about having an epidural. Mine worked well so the effects didn't wear off for about 24 hours after the delivery. So pain free for a bit longer. And because you have a catheter, you can finally drink all you want without having to go to the loo every 5 minutes!!!