Has any one had an epidural that was NOT followed by interventions?

[DivaSkyChick]

My family keeps telling me that there are no bravery points for tolerating the pain, to just go for the epidural. But from what I've read, it seems like epis lead to cutting and finally forceps or ventouse. Is it really "a = b+c" ?

Anyone have GREAT epidural stories?

don't I sound sm art! I c&p that btw!

thank you Hana, so basically it's a hoover and they suck the baby out of you?

OMG

think they attach something to the baby's skull and it's gently aided out - the vaccuum puts some energy behind delivering the head

I disagree with lulumama's hierarchy. Why put the opiate pr as an option to try before epidural? If you choose opiate relief and the baby is born fairly soon after, then he or she may have breathing and feeding problems for several hours after birth and even need further drugs and possible separation from the mum. Not a good scenario. OTOH, epidural has minimal effect on the baby. Also if you want to remain alert opiates are a bad choice, whereas epidural doesn't affect your alertness and you can choose what degree of pr you want, whether partial or total. So, personally, I wouldn't consider epidural to be the final choice, rather the other way around - use opiates only if epidural wasn't giving enough pr.

ventouse - think sink plunger rather than vacuum!

yes i agree prettycandles - i went straight from TENS to epidural with DD1.
gas & air made me gag
didn't want anything else as i am a nauseous type!

with DD2 i had TENS then gas & air. nothing else needed. i think gas & air is good if you get it early enough and labour isn't too long.

interesting PC... i suppose the way i look at it is, the opiates ( in small doses ) can take the edge of and allow you to feel the sensations and be aware of the need to push..... if labour is progressing quickly, then the dosage can be smaller, also, there is no need for an anesthetist....and what can be a difficult period of sitting still whilst it is done......

obviously , opiates can cross the placenta, so a lot depends on the midwife's assessment of when and how much to give..

for me, as the epidural is a total block, that can slow things, or stop a woman feeling the urge to push, i personally would have it as a last resort, for this reasons.....

I had my epidural at 8cms, basically because I'd been in labour for 24 hours and was absolutely flagging. The midwife had said - although clearly these things are not written in stone - that I'd be at least another 7 or 8 hours before delivering and I felt like giving up. Epidural gave me a huge boost energywise, not having the pain gave me a feeling of being back in charge and I took control again - was able to walk about, get comfortable, join in the chat with DH and MW. In fact, things speeded up then. My DD was born 3 hours later, no intervention, no tearing. The midwives were great on explaining when and how to push; I was able to go and have a shower too.

As far as administering the epidural went, my anaesthetist was very considerate - I warned him as a contraction came; he stopped and continued again a little while later. I didn't feel any discomfort, although DH went a bit white.

And Lulamama, epidural isn't a total block either - you can still feel the pressure of the baby and the contractions, just not the pain. There's a lot of disinformation about them, IMHO.

Haven't read the full thread but wanted to comment on DivaSkyChick:

'Seriously, nothing scares me more than the ventouse. Based on no more than seeing the various devices and how they work on an episode of pregnancy and birth on the baby channel, I would rather get a section! I'm sure that sounds pretty ignorant and gee, having never given birth I guess I am, but my fear is my fear and it's bordering on terror.'

I can totally understand your fears. I felt the same. I'd rather have my belly cut open than my vagina. You can put it in your birthplan that, should the baby need assistance, you would like a c/s rather than an instrumental delivery. Speak to your midwife/consultant to see if that would be an option. (...and you know you can always refuse treatment noone can do anything without your consent)

wanted to add. I had a c/s for dd because she was breech but had I not needed the c/s I would have asked for an epidural the minute I enter the hospital. There are no medals for braving pain and what's better 24hrs of agonising pain or 24hrs of reading glossies and watching telly? Some people are better with pain than others and I am a total wuss I don't think I could do labour without pain relief. I'm glad I didn't have to find out.

Prettycandles - yes i see where you are coming from, and some people don't like the idea of G and A or pethidine etc.However, I think it's worth emphasising that an epidural is a TOTALLY different form of pain relief as it requires a highly medicalised set-up. You can't get them in many small, homely midwife -led units which for me was what I wanted for my births. Opiates alter your sense of consciousness so you feel differently about the pain, you don't stop feeling it. The thing about epidurals being a total block may be a little confusing. I had one for last DC (which had to be by caesarian).Yes you DO feel pressure (I couildn't believe the amount of pulling around that went on!!) but you DON'T feel the pain - I certainly wouldn't have agreed to be cut open while awake if I could feel that pain! Yes, ultimately each to their own, but i think people should have an informed choice, and for me, the chance to give birth in a home from home unit with the mimimum of medical intervention was important.

Hi, I have to admit to being one of the lucky ones! My son was born in the 'face to pubes' position which means he was born with his head up rather than facing down. I managed to push him out and I honestly don't think I would have been able to do it had it not been for a perfectly timed epidural which meant that by the time I began to push, some of the spinal had worn off and I could really concentrate on pushing, which in the end took 14 minutes, but that was after a 24 hour labour! I also think that pushing on your side helps if your baby is not for coming out, and if ventouse and forceps are being recommended! I know which Id rather do! Also, pushing on your side is also kinder to your pelvis, if you suffered from symphysis pubic dysfunction, like I did. Anyway, like I said, I was very lucky partly due to a very supportive partner and an angel of a midwife. I had a terrible pregnancy with my first son, but an easy birth and sometimes that can be the way it goes.I do realise however, that there are some women who have an absolutely awful time and maybe that will be me next time but hope it won't! God, Im scaring myself now! SAMAM

i had an epidural cakehead, in my first labour, and felt NOTHING !! had to look at the monitor to see if i was having contractions

i have heard of women having to be told when to push , so they can be a total block..with good management, they can be reduced so you do feel the pressure etc.....

i do believe personally,that having an epidural was ultimately responsible for my labour stalling then stopping... so that was my experience...(induciton ending in c.s for failure to progress)

i had my second labour with G&A and pethidine and it was far better for me ..that is my personal experience

as has been pointed out, the epidural is a medicalised pain relief, needing to be done by an an anaesthetist and that does take it into a different realm, IMO, that is why it is at the top of the pain relief tree for me

also, I think it is worthwhile to suport women so that they can cope with the pain,that they know it is hard work and that it will hurt ! but that it is copeable with and it is endurable and that it is something you can do.......

and it is unlike any other pain you experience, as you get a baby at the end of it !

I had an epidural with ds (my 1st) i had no urges to push when the head was there but i did have severe pain in my lower stomach at this point even with the epidural. I was cut & did have a few stitches not many apart from that is was all fine 3 pushes & ds was out so for me it was a good experience.

With dd i did not have one & she was also 3 pushes & out with no stitches this time.

I would just say go with the flow if you get to the point where you feel you can not take anymore pain then have an epidural, i would have had one with dd but she came so fast i did not have the time.

Just reading this makes me distressed. People kept saying "you soon forget", well i haven't.

KKS

if you had a traumatic birth, try contacting

birth trauma associtaion

or

sheila kitzinger birth crisis

i know where you are coming from x

Kks - start a thread. I'm not pushing you off this one, but if yuou are distressed then a dedicated thread will bring you a surprising amount of help and support. It may also bring you guidance and suggestions where to go to get the help you want and need. It's both true and untrue that you forget: I had a disrtressing first labour, but thought that I had dealt with it and put it behind me by the time I was pg with my 2nd. Unfortunately I hadn't dealt with it - Id only managed to put it behind me, and it resurfaced when I was preparing for my 2nd labour. Fortunately I was avble to get help and I did resolve the issues and go on to have a good birth. After that it became true - I did forget, and happily. So start a thread, and see what it brings you.

{{hugs}}

I had a 'mobile' epidural, which only worked on one side. I expeirenced both good pr (which is what I bleieve enabled me to relax and start dilating properly) and also a lot of pain. But I was also able to feel to push. It was only when I had my next child with virtually no pr that I realised that even a partial epidural gives a good deal of pr!

I hope I am not repeating others too much as I have only read the first posting. I had an epidural when I had DD Oct 2005 (First baby). It was excellent. No interventions. Epidural was put in when I was about 5cm dilated and DD born 8 hours later. 40 minutes pushing. I did have a tear which required stitches. No doubt because I was stuck on a bed. The only bad thing was that I think it slowed my labour down as I had got to 5cm fairly quickly but needed a drip to speed things up at the end.

Hi

I have had 6 children 4 inductions and 3 epidurals the first one with my eldest 18 years ago and with the second 16 years ago and with my last baby 18 months ago,that was partly to try to lower my very high blood pressure with the eldest I had an episiotomy with the others no other interventions at all.

My only advice would be to find out as much as you can about the various pain relief options and have a very open mind about pain relief. I have cared for women who have become very upset after the delivery because they felt they had 'failed' in some way because they needed and had the epidural, and I felt like that after my first. When I used to hold antenatal classes I used to say just be open minded the way labour goes cannot be predicted and nor can how you are going to feel.

Good luck with you birth, dont worry about the labour it is only one day

Sorry if it's not relevant to OP but just wanted to comment on the posts about ventouse / caesars - IMHO they aren't comparable interventions and caesar certainly isn't the easier option. I had ventouse with DS1 and it wasn't bad at all, while before labour I was terrified of episiotomy or tearing, once I'd been pushing my big fat son for 2 hours and he wasn't budging, I was happy for an intervention to bring it to an end. C-section takes several weeks of recovery and limits mobility / bending / lifting and impacts on your choices for subsequent labours (may not be able to deliver vaginally after although there are many successful VBACs). I know some people have horror stories with epis but most are fine and I could do star jumps & lunges again just a few days after labour (why the hell I wanted to do that I don't know - post-birth adrenaline high )!!!

I have had epidurals with three types of birth: ventouse, section and natural. 9 years ago with ds1, the epidural definitely led to intervention as I was immobilised, could not feel to push and needed the 'hoover', poor thing had a wonky head for ages... I had the spinal for dd caesarian 5 years later, my most traumatic birth, but that wasn't because of an epidural she was op and very distressed. 4 years later, ds2 (six weeks old today!) was a successful vbac, partly due, I believe, to the epidural. After 24 hours of labour (again) I was exhausted amd it gave me the strength to keep going and it was another 9 hours before he arrived. This was a completely different experience to the one I had before, I could walk, rock, go the loo, bounce on the ball etc and then when it came to pushing, it wore off and I FELT when to push, 30 mins later he arrives and my first 'proper' experience of birth was fantastic. I gave myself a hard time for a few days thinking I still hadn't done it without the epi but I got over it quite quickly! The most important thing for me was not having another section. There's a good chance of not needing further intervention in my experience! Good luck with it.

well, I had an epidural first time round and it was fab - I had a horrible, horrible induction and the epidural took all that horrendous pain away. I went to sleep and by the time I woke up again it'd worn off enough for me to to a reasonable job of pushing. The second stage did take a very long time (2 hours ) and was really hard because of the epidural, but I got away without the use of instruments.
I did have a serious post-partum haemorrhage afterwards, but that was due to the induction, not the epidural.
I didn't choose that option again though, the second and third babies were born at home, second one without any pain relief, third just with G&A. All things considered, I would always try to avoid an epidural if you can.