Epidural - how late it too late?

[heartmoonshadow]

Hi,

I have quite a way to go until I give birth - 12 weeks or so but I was wondering about epidurals.

I have heard some people say that they were not allowed an epidural as they were too late - how late is too late as I really want to have one?

Thanks

HMS

I had an epidural at 9cm dilated. My MIL is a midwife and she said it is never really too late for an epidural providing the anaesthetist thinks you can stay still enough to put one in place throughout the throws of contractions.

Same here - had epidural at 9cm because of miscommunication between MW's and Anaesthatist (had been asking for one for hours!!) he gave a spinal block to get my pain under control asap as well as epidural but contractions were everyminute and I had to be held down which was not nice. ask for it asap if you canxx

Thanks ladies,

It is interesting to find out that it is 'never' too late. I just think maybe the anaethetist for my friends was being ar*ey as it was early in the morning.

I am due to have baby at Stafford hospital so I want to be pre-armed to know my rights at the time so I can get what I need. To be honest Maternity ward has not been criticised but I have heard horrid reports from friends. Such as being left in a waiting room whilst having contractions, no pain relief given and sharing a room whilst giving birth. The NHS presents such a lovely scenario - I wish I could afford to go private still never mind I suppose when it comes down to it I will not care.

heartmoonshadow - me and DW are both quite sure the midwife at the birth of DS2 was deliberately trying to push DW over some kind of notional time limit.

DW asked for an epidural and, without looking up from her files, the midwife just said 'oh they are a bit busy at the moment'. There was no way she could have known that as she did not even call anyone.

I was gobsmacked and intervened firmly at this point. I pointed out my DW was also 'a bit busy' and mentioned she was being supervised by the leading consultant in the hospital (she had been very ill) and the midwife immediatley backed down and caled the anaesthetist once she heard who the consultant was. Magically, he was not to busy any more.

Do not be worried though, talk about your wishes before the birth with the midwife and do try to make sure your DH/DP or another firm but supportive birth partner is with you to make sure you get what you want and need.

Best wisheS for the birth as well.

look into the pros and cons, and remember there are other pain relief options to try to

i had an epidural at 8cm with DD1. i asked "was it too late" and the mw said "no, you still have a way to go" (dd1 was still high)

i think you do also have to trust the mw experience, she thought i needed one with DD1 and had the anaesthetist waiting outside the door.

other people i know have wanted an epidural but told they were busy, then got on ok with gas n air etc. and were glad they didn't have one after all.

heartmoon - i know lots of people have bad birth experiences, but many also have good ones. just the ones with bad births tend to talk more about it so don't be alarmed unnecessarily.

I agree that there doesnt seem to be a 'too late' point.
I had one at 10cms with DS2!

I had only just got to hospital and my DH was still a good hour away (all happened fast).
I was in lots of pain and asking for epidural, MW was lovely and said even though I was 10cms she would get me one as my waters hadnt gone yet and it would delay things, hopefully long enough for my DH to get there.

Had epidural put in a few mins later and it did delay things enough as DH ran in the door as I was pushing DS2 out about an hour later!

I think you need to keep an open mind. The pain may not be as bad as you expect. Its well worth using other methods of controlling pain in combination with the possiblity of an epidural.

For example learning to control my breathing using the natal hypnotherpathy CDs and using TENS really helped me. It meant that my uterus got the oxygen it needed and contractions were more effective. Also it helps changing positions occassionally during labour.

I had an epidural with my son, after 28 hours in labour. (The whole labour was about 33 hours) It was the right decision as I was so tired, but it did have major disadvantages. For example it is very difficult to be mobile, even with a mobile epidural. Many women have to be catherised and it does increase the risk of complications.

With my second delivery, the only pain relief I had was TENS. It was a lot less painful and very quick. I had no need of an epidural. There is a lot of luck in these things though.

I hope you have a good birth experience.

couldn't agree more with reallytired

with DD2 i just had TENS and gas & air. pushing stage was faster (3 pushes and out) vs an hour with DD1 after epidural.

do keep an open mind and see how you feel. a lot depends on the baby's position and speed of birth and my experience of midwives has been nothing but very positive (kingston and west mid). busy busy and hygiene of west mid could have been better, but midwives i could not fault either time.

I had one at 9cm, Which didn't work as i could still move my feet, feel the pain and walk after the birth. I was also induced and the pain was horriffic and i dilated extremely quickly.
Don't think i want one this time but we'll see.

Also my back ached allot after at the point where the epidural went in.

Hi I think like others have said you need to keep an open mind? is this your first child? If so, is it because you have been told all the horror stories of excruciating pain? I was terrified of giving birth - absolutely terrified, but after a very good antenatal teacher pointed out the cons of an epidural - ie severe headaches for weeks if the anaesthetist gets it wrong or if you move whilst it is being put in. Or the fact that you can't move about and get your baby into a good position. I had a tens machine on from the minute I went into labour, and kept cranking it up - it's not a great pain reliever but pressing the boost button gives you something to focus on. I also stayed at home until I was 6cm dilated and went from that to 10cm in about 45 mins!! I really wanted to avoid an epidural so I waited until I couldn't bear it anymore but by this point I was ready to push, so I just used the pain to push. I've heard people tear worse when they have had epidural as they can't feel how hard they are pushing, but that may be a rumour.

That's an interesting point mymatekate - I tore (second degree) wiht my only epidural delivery, the other 3 in water - no tear and felt more in control.

The midwives where I gave birth to DS were definitely trying to fob me off rather than getting me my fecking epidural, which I'd endured a particularly long and hellish journey for the express purpose of getting.

Kept saying he was busy and didn't I want to move, get on the ball, etc.

No, I don't. I'd already had a baby with no pain relief and knew that was NOT for me at all.

Plus, I was giving birth on my own with DS.

I stood my ground and got the epi but I must have been close because my body was involuntarily spasming.

If you know that's what you want then be firm and bang on. And on and on if you must.

It can often depend on who is taking care of you. Some will try to hold you off after a certain point as there is the potential for more interventions becoming necessary for some women with a later epidural. Others will let you have one at anytime.

Discuss your wishes when you go in and make sure your partner is aware of what you would like as well. But, as has been said, see how things go....you may find that by using other options for comfort...there are many and without proper support many women never even know about them or try them, you may decide you don't want the epidural after all.

I would see how quickly you go, I was bloody glad of the epidural when stuck at 4 cm with DS, total labour of 36 hours. don't know what I would have done without it.

Second time round was incredibly painful but efficient 5 hour labour with great home water birth.

I would get your DH/DP to tell them very firmly if you want the epi, and try to get the mobile one which I had, which was great. But if you're progressing quite quickly, you could always try to do without, it really comes into its own with a slow labour or anything involving synotocin..

Hi

Thanks for all the advice, and yes this is my first (and only due to it being a miracle!!) baby and I am petrified of being in too much pain. My biggest fear is that I won't cope and that it will traumatise me. I say this because I have incredibly painful periods which while infrequent do cause me to blackout sometimes with the pain of them and I know that childbirth will be a million times worse.

Hi Heartmoonshadow - just a thought, but have you looked into hypnobirthing at all? its not something I've used myself but a good friend of mine has and it was great apparantly.
I can understand your fears and it sounds like you taking as much control in your labour as you can will be really important to you.

heartmoon, i was like that before DD1. i had an epidural at 8cm, i think because i had decided that was what i was going to do before i even went into labour. then when i went in and was that far ahead, asked for one, she said yes yes ok... the mw really are good at judging how far you are and what you need.

anyway, with DD2 i was very much "will see how it goes" and managed ok without.

i didn't tear either time btw and did manage to push DD1 out as we let the epidural wear off sufficiently. however i vomited a lot after the birth and felt quite rough, which i didn't have after DD2 and no epidural.

so do try and go with an open mind, ignore the horror stories, ensure your dh is ready to fight on your behalf IF you feel your wishes aren't being listened to but hopefully you'll be just fine.

btw my friend has very very bad period pain (blackouts too) and she said she would choose giving birth over them any day.

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heartmoonshadow, I had terrible period pains too.. I really found TENS helped in labour, I was sceptical but it really really worked and was effective, cutting about 30% of the pain.

I would inform yourself about the epidural and make sure you're going to a hospital which has it available readily, but try TENS and books like Birthing from Within and Ina May Gaskin's Guide to Childbirth, both I found very very helpful.

If your birth goes normally/fast, it's probably better to try and go with it, but if it's dragging on or you have a very long pre labour, I would definitely take the epidural.

I am a really really big coward and never would have believed it was possible without pain relief, and indeed it was really painful at the time, like coming up against a massive precipice and looking down, BUT about 3 hours after the birth I had genuinely, totally forgotten it and now, 6 weeks on, that pain is totally irrelevant to me, I was not traumatised in the least. Friends I know who have been traumatised have not been so through the pain itself but through being treated badly or insensitively by medical staff, or through things going badly wrong. The pain of childbirth per se does not traumatise you, but something like a forceps delivery can.. You can maximise your chances of a good delivery by staying upright etc. I read EVERYTHING during both pregnancies, and was so glad I did, as I was informed about what procedures led to what, and what I could do to improve my experience, including trying to find the best hospital near you etc...

don't worry and best of luck!

When I shouted for an epidural the midwife replied "no time for that, we can see the head"

So I guess that was a little too late!

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Doesn't everyone want to die during labour? I remember clearly getting to the point where I felt death would be preferable to continuing, but I managed on gas and air - I think you can surprise yourself, and somehow find inner reserves you didn't know you had.