Page 5 | For those who opted for epidural - how "painless" is it really??

purpleneon · 2021-09-16T14:33:05+00:00

For those who had a VB + epidural, is it actually anywhere near "painless" (think I need to stop watching birthing videos & being horrified by the screams!) or still v painful, but just less so than gas & air

namechanged221 · 19/09/2021 00:05

Like night and day. Going from an intolerably painful back-to-back labour to epidural was amazing.
I still used gas and air on each contraction as I had quite a light epidural so I could still feel to push.

Ionlydomassiveones · 19/09/2021 00:55

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ThreeImaginaryBoys · 19/09/2021 01:04

Two births and two epidurals. Both were amazing ... painless apart from a bit of discomfort when crowning. I even slept for a couple of hours during my second labour.

Just do it. Take the pain relief.

RagzReturnsRebooted · 19/09/2021 01:12

I had one with the first birth (planned a home birth, didn't work out!) after a very long labour and had already had pethidine by then but still struggling. It didn't really work, I could still feel the ice test but they didn't believe me, said I was just feeling the pressure. It wasn't until I got up and walked to the loo shortly after the birth that they realised it hadn't actually worked...
Sounds like when they do work, they're great!

mobear · 19/09/2021 01:16

It was uncomfortable going in but then I fell asleep. I could still move and had strength in my legs which seemed to surprise the midwives, but I felt nothing.

noirdreams · 19/09/2021 01:26

Ahhhhh

The first time, gods gift. Couldn't feel anything. Went from 16 hours of begging to die to being on top of the world.
Even the pushing didn't hurt? Couldn't feel it, just felt really constipated lol.

Second time.
I was induced, and asked for epidural before waters broken.

All fine and dandy until I realised it only worked on the right side of my body so every contraction I could half feel it, so it hurt but not unbearable. It was very weird experience.
Had really bad back ache since last time (4 months ago)

bravelittlepenguin · 19/09/2021 01:34

They are amazing. They make contractions totally painless (I was able to get some sleep after many days of latent labour which was so important) but you can still feel enough during labour to allow you to participate properly (or at least I could). Would definitely recommend them and definitely wouldn't consider another baby without one again!

Fedupmum13 · 19/09/2021 01:49

Mine didn't work and only numbed half of my abdomen, which made the pain more intense. I was gutted 😭

dottypencilcase · 19/09/2021 01:55

If it was available on the streets, I'd be the first to buy. It's amazing. I started off refusing all pain control but was vomiting with every contraction. Was scared of becoming dehydrated and so agreed to an epidural- I'll never forget how at ease I felt afterwards.

timeisnotaline · 19/09/2021 02:33

Remember also that mostly you compare births with and without. I had one wiht my first 4-5 hours after labour properly kicked off and it was magical. It would have been ridiculous to ask for one 4-5 hours after arriving at hospital for my second as I’d long had baby and probably could have asked to be discharged by then (not physically but in terms of the nhs letting people skip off home). I would never ever want a longer labour without one.

timeisnotaline · 19/09/2021 02:34

*mostly you CAN’T compare - critical word missing there!

deleteasappropriate · 19/09/2021 02:42

I had an epidural in 1977 and the midwife said that I'd changed her mind about them. They'd been taught there was always intervention needed but not for me! When I had baby two in 1978 I booked in but said I'd wait to see if I was ok without. Two contractions in and I had my second epidural. At that time we had to pay - it was £25 fir the first and £35 for the second. Money definitely well spent - I didn't feel a thing!

LimpLettice · 19/09/2021 03:11

First DC: no. A fast labour, no pain replied, horrible pushing stage, DD crowned with her arm wedged by her head. Fair bit of tearing and 2.5 hours pushing.

DC2: Back to back, premature rupture of membranes, 18 hours of agony with little progression. Epidural was bliss. I could've kissed the lovely anaesthetist. Went from 4-10 in an hour. Could walk, felt contractions as pressure, pushed while kneeling.

DC3: induction. Baby positioned wrong, head in hip. Epidural failed as they kept trying to put me off and was in so much pain it was hard to stay still. Top up and resite failed. Told to push before ready. Eventual spinal block, manual movement of DS2 head, out like a pea. The anaesthetist came to see me on the ward after to check on me as he felt so bad at the state of me!

No more for me but if there were I would insist on an epidural right at the start. No arguing or begging. Medical marvels.

HungryHippo11 · 19/09/2021 06:15

I would just take note of how many women on this thread have said "I had to have forceps/episotomy/ventouse and couldn't feel a thing. Epidural increases the likelihood of requiring those interventions and they are not without risks, such as haemorrhage, incontinence, prolapse etc.

I'm not saying epidurals are bad and nobody should have one, but do read around it to make sure you're aware of all the facts.

biglittleliar · 19/09/2021 06:35

Two epidurals, the first was better than the second: the first only took to one side initially, but the midwife helped me roll on to my side to even it up. I spent most of the day watching tv waiting to dilate more and only started feeling something when it came to the push (I had tapered down on the top ups by then!). After 42 hours of labour and a baby who was reluctant to come out, the obstetrician used a ventouse.

The second one made my legs cold and tingly and I should I have asked them to re-site it, but still managed to sleep, plus it was over quickly! The baby was b2b so I definitely felt more of a dull ache, but I can't imagine what it would have been like without pain relief! I didn't need any interventions for #2.

In both cases, I had a catheter in which was an utter mercy and up there with the epidural as the thing I most looked forward to at 3am when 8.5 months pregnant and constantly having to pee.

To me, one advantage of the epidural over g&a or drugs is that it didn't mess with my head. I did not feel woozy, I had total mental clarity and felt fully present.

If you end up getting one and feel like it doesn't work properly, demand that the anaesthetist come back and re-site it! I feel like such an idiot for not doing so, and putting up with the discomfort, when my first experience had been so great.

biglittleliar · 19/09/2021 06:43

@HungryHippo11

I would just take note of how many women on this thread have said "I had to have forceps/episotomy/ventouse and couldn't feel a thing. Epidural increases the likelihood of requiring those interventions and they are not without risks, such as haemorrhage, incontinence, prolapse etc.

I'm not saying epidurals are bad and nobody should have one, but do read around it to make sure you're aware of all the facts.

My understanding of NHS practices is that in most cases where they finally deign to give you an epidural, it's because you are probably going to have to go down the route of an intervention anyway. And having a drug-free birth can equally leave you with haemorrhages, incontinence and prolapses, but you'll feel the pain while you tear as opposed to not feeling it!

1990b · 19/09/2021 06:50

Best decision l ever made. The midwife l had insisted l needed pain relief, l was delirious with pain l would have done anything or taken anything
it to make it stop.

Snally82 · 19/09/2021 07:03

After back to back contractions for hours it will bliss… but not without its downsides. You have to sit deadly still while it goes it which is mission impossible, mine wore off in one patch at the front and back, you can lose ability to move legs at all so birthing positions are limited, and I couldn’t tell how hard I was pushing so I basically ripped my downstairs apart (there was a concern of foetal distress so I just did all I could!).

HeAteItWithASpoon · 19/09/2021 07:03

Are you having your baby on the NHS? Just please be aware that even if it’s in your birth plan and you’ve told everyone months before it’s what you’d like you’ll be very unlikely to get one at the moment unless you have complications or an anaesthetist is miraculously available. No one told me this beforehand, I’d just assumed I’d be allowed one when I went into hospital in Labour and no one had even suggested this might be an issue.

I begged and begged for one for hours and was just told it would all be easier if I just didn’t have one. I found the whole ordeal incredibly traumatic and needed counselling afterwards as I just hadn’t prepared myself to give birth without pain relief.

FTEngineerM · 19/09/2021 07:08

Are you having your baby on the NHS? Just please be aware that even if it’s in your birth plan and you’ve told everyone months before it’s what you’d like you’ll be very unlikely to get one at the moment unless you have complications

Blinking heck, where are you.. the moon?

I said ‘I can’t cope anymore I want something else other than G&A’
Midwife said ‘you want pethidine love?’
I said ‘no that’s rank, epidural’

After that contraction she wheeled me to the labour ward and an anaesthetist was there waiting took about ten minutes to prep by back and it was in. About 10-15 minutes later the pain was easing. Certainly no begging involved and certainly not hours and hours.

Even at 2am when the feeling started coming back in one stripe she went and got a different anaesthetist and he upped the dose and the pain eased, that was about 30-40 minutes in total.

SheWoreYellow · 19/09/2021 07:12

On the interventions side of things, I don’t think you can dismiss them as being on the cards anyway. Epidurals do limit mobility and your ability to push, so that will make interventions more likely.

SuperCaliFragalistic · 19/09/2021 07:13

I had one with DC2 but I still felt a lot of pain. Maybe I wasn't using the top up button enough. I didn't want it at all but was talked into it because I was having the induction drip (which I also didn't want). I managed to nap between contractions just after it went in but they didn't really get going for ages and I'd been awake for 2 days by then. Later on when I was pushing I felt everything. It was more painful than DC1 where I just had gas and air. To be honest it was a very traumatic birth and after being hooked up to everything I couldn't move properly and there were loads of people in the room coming and going.

I would try to avoid this level of medical intervention if I were to do it again.

cptartapp · 19/09/2021 07:17

I had an epidural. The anaesthetist took two attempts and hit a nerve the first time, the pain was excruciating. Can't really say I felt much benefit tbh but DC was a back to back labour so don't know if that's why.
Ended up pushing for over two hours and had a second degree tear and an episiotomy. It's all a bit of a blur tbh. As a nurse, I was just obsessed with the midwife draining my bladder as couldn't feel if I needed to go or not and didn't want long term bladder problems!

Yaty · 19/09/2021 07:24

Had one, fell asleep about 15 minutes afterwards and then didn't feel a thing pain wise. I have to say it is strange, being told when to push and not feeling anything at all. I ended up with forcepts and stitches after and felt nothing. They'd given me more by this point to numb me from the arms down, I think because they thought I was going to need a c section and I really didn't like the feeling of my body waking back up again it took ages and was horrible pins and needles everywhere feeling and that my legs we all swollen and squishy. But for pain management can't fault it.

endoflevelbaddy · 19/09/2021 07:32

If you can still feel anything it's not in right. Happened with both me and my sister - only working down one side. Speak up though if that's the case. My sister was too late as already time to push, but the anaesthetist adjusted mine, I was left completely numb and slept for the last 4 hours of my labour 🙌🏼