Failed epidural during C section - how rare is this and has it happened to any of you?

[TeddysMother]

Hello,

I had my baby last month and had a quite traumatic birth experience. I am wondering if anybody on here has had something similar and also wondering how common this really is.

Long story short, I had to have a emergency C-section following over 20 hours of induced labour. I had had an epidural fitted during the night which was working wonders. I got into surgery and they topped it up until I couldn't feel anything.

Then they began surgery. The first issue was during the initial incision I felt what was initially like a scratch along my stomach followed by a very sharp pain. I made them aware at this point that I could feel the epidural was increased and they were happy to proceed.

The C-section was going well. I only felt the typical tugging that other people describe and then all of a sudden it went very very sharp. I told them the surgery was paused and I was basically left wide open whilst they put me under anaesthesia. This process wasn't instant and the pain I felt of basically being wide open and what they had done really hurt. Unfortunately they only had one more incision to make which was my uterus so I was extremely close to being able to meet my son being born, but this was taken away.

I do want another child but I now feel scared of having a C-section. The pain of the surgery was one thing, but knowing that my son was born and I wasn't there for him for quite a while, really hits an emotional pain I was never prepared to have as I had a major hemorrhage on top of the anaesthesia. It was a long time until I could even focus my eyes on my son and that hurts.

Did anyone else have a similar experience to any of these aspects? And does anybody know how common a child birth like this actually is?

Thank you very much for taking the time to read this.

This thread has stirred memories of my first child’s birth half a century ago. I’d had a GA with high forceps and she was taken away before I came round. We first met 12 hours later. I still mind. Sorry for your experience, OP.

my spinal block failed with my first birth when having forceps but prepped for a c section and spinal block failed again for my elected c section on my second birth .
luckily it was realised before incision on my c section so they put me straight to sleep .

Happened to a friend, it terrified me!

I’m sorry to hear about your experience.

A similar thing happened to me 10 years ago with DC1 during an EMCS following a failed induced labour.

I’ve since gone on to have a successful elective CS so I can compare the 2 experiences.

The pain during my failed epidural was excruciating - I can only describe it as a searing pain like fire as they made the incisions and then enormous pressure. I screamed and explained that I could feel it all. None of the surgeons seemed to react at all and they told me sternly
to “calm down”. I’m not sure if they thought I was overreacting or just needed to carry on because it was an emergency but it was truly traumatic, coupled with the complete dismissal of my experience and ibuprofen for pain relief! I never had an opportunity to really ‘process’ what happened anyway because my DC sadly needed to be admitted to SCBU.

I opted for an EMCS for DC2 and had to meet with a consultant beforehand to discuss it. I explained what had happened and she reviewed my notes and acknowledged that the epidural may not have worked properly and that this can happen.

My ELCS with DC2 was a very positive experience and I could hardly feel any of the operation at all, just the slight tugging sensation. It was a world away from my first birth experience and it helped me to move on from it.

I think hospitals now offer a birth debrief - something like that might help you to understand your experience?

Wishing you all the best with your recovery - be kind to yourself after such a difficult start.