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?

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!

Totally agree. At my birth afterthoughts session, I asked the midwife what the reasons for my long labour/forceps/tear were. At first she immediately said, "well you did have an epidural".

Then we went on talking about the fact that it was a first labour, that DD was back-to-back, that she was huge... at the end I asked the same question again, and she said "don't blame yourself, it probably wasn't the epidural".

So in the course of 20 minutes it went from being the epidural's fault, to not being the epidural's fault. Or maybe she just told me what she thought I wanted to hear.

i also wanted a water birth in a mw led unit, but it wasnt to be! ds was overdue and induced, although i only had the pessary things moved very fast. Tens machine (recommend!) and natal hypnotherapy were pretty good to begin with, but when i got to 4cm i had g&a and it just made me cry! in the 2hour wait for the epi i really dont remember much except pushing uncontrollably despite being only 8cm and hearing the doctors say "she needs an epidural", which i remind myself of when confronted by earth mother types! (i thought i was one, i was wrong!). i needed forceps in the end, despite 'pushing well' and i couldnt have moved around anyway because there was a hr trace on his head and his hr dropped every time i moved off my back. It does put me in a quandry about what to do next time because ill never know if i needed the induction, epi, forceps because he was in a weird position (my gut feeling) or if i could have gotten him out naturally with a bit more yoga and bravery (as has been insinuated by some..)
despite what it sounds, my birth was lovely, the epi kept me calm and clear headed. i got very hung up before hand about the hows and wheres of birth, but in the end none of it mattered to me that much because i had a baby! which the books and birth plans kind of let you forget.. Anyway good luck!

I was highly dubious about epidurals before labour. I have a high pain threshold and knew quite a few normal mums who'd managed without so I simply didn't think I'd need one.

And you hear such horror stories about them.

But I ended up having one, and now I think they are the greatest invention on God's green earth!

The gas and air unexpectedly made me want to vomit & didn't do much for the pain anyway, the bath was good for pain relief but I unexpectedly fainted in the heat and had to be lifted out bodily (low blood pressure), and the baby was unexpectedly back to back and had no intention of coming out any time soon.

I ended up needing a ventouse and episiotomy. Neither of which I even felt, cos of the epidural.

So expect the unexpected!

Not to be too dramatic, but I honestly don't think I could have given birth vaginally without the epidural. It saved my ass. Made it all "doable". Of course it was patchy so they had to top it up twice - by the time it came to push I was basically dead from the waist down. But it was fine, the pushing worked regardless, & it was great not feeling it. I was able to focus more on DH and the midwife - and then....the baby! Was able to breastfeed whilst getting stitches that I didn't even feel, and it lasted until 6am the next morning!

It'll be top of my birth plan next time!

If you're having to have the nasty Synotocin drip, have an epidural. Simple as.

I tried Pethidine and it just made me stoned - no pain relief at all. You can only keep up your breathing techniques for so long.

I was open minded about having one to be honest, but beforehand I liked to think of myself as being able to 'cope well with pain' so thought I might be able to manage without.

Well, I went into labour and the pain was unbearable very quickly. Turned out baby was back to back (i didn't know this, just thought I was a total wuss).

I told DH I wanted an epi and I asked for one once we got to hospital. I was only 1.5 cms dilated!!

Anyway, several hours later and now 4cms I asked for an epidural and midwife convinced me to have a bath first (bless her, it did help a bit). She eventually conceded and got me an epidural. I must have been 5 or 6 centimetres dilated by that point.

Anyway, it didn't work. It took the student anaesthetist several 'goes' to get it in. Blood everywhere, my back looked such a state afterwards. And in the end it was basically sited wrongly so it didn't work properly. I was horrified as all I was working towards was coping with the constant contractions until I could get the epidural. Then I got it and the pain didn't go! :(

I had an EMCS in the end due to baby getting distressed/lack of progress. Due to his position I think.

I think I was just unlucky though.

Didn't feel a thing after my epidural worked (took a few attempts & some rolling about to get both sides numb) which was so much better than before I had it. Ended up with forceps, but I think that given more time I could have got DD out myself (maybe optimistic as she was 10lb2 but I like to think positively). The only downside for me was that you're on the clock for pushing.
Another positive was that I was still pretty numb when having to pee for the first time with stitches so it wasn't uncomfortable at all!

My only recommendation would be to fill in the paperwork beforehand. I'd said I'd rather not have one but you know be open to it if needed. So I dIdnt get the paperwork. 30 minutes into a 3 hour labour and birth I really wanted one and DH filled in the paper work so bloody slowly between contractions it was too late to get one by the time it was time to push. It was all right in the end but only because I was lucky enough to give birth rather quickly.

I had one which failed. I found it quite frightening as I had it re-sighted several times, it caused excruciating spasms down my leg and left me with a numb right leg up to my knee and feeling everywhere else. It has definitely put me off for next time.