Midwives say women should pay for epidurals

[TheDullWitch]

At least £500 a baby it says here

i dont know anything about epidurals, therefore dont know why anyone would have one. dont suppose anyone can be bothered to tell me?

Our local hospital doesn't offer epidurals as a matter of course, and everyone is aware of that before you go in. It's a midwife led place, and absolutely fab. I had a 12 hour labour, culminating in a ventouse delivery on gas and air - but it was so well managed that I coped fine, and I have the lowest pain threshold ever - have to be sedated for the smallest filling.

why stop with epidurals, why let anyone have any pain relief or anaesthesia unless they pay for it?

It's a luxury, isn't it, not to be in pain, and one that only the rich deserve.

As you can tell I am spitting with rage about this, and to think that it came from MIDWIVES who are mostly women?!!

Surely I should get a rebate from the NHS because I had DD at home, buying my own pool, filling it with my own hot water and providing the midwife with cups of tea?

I've never had one but it seems really mean

what about elective c-sections then? can see the demand for those going up if epidurals cost £500!

thats why i dont know anything about them, where i had my dd's it was a birthing centre, no doctors, therefore no epidurals to offer

the mw told me if there had been a dr present at dd1's birth, he would have whipped me into theatre pronto

but the expertise of the fabulouso mw's armed with forceps saved my dd1's life

Shouldn't have thought the cost of the hot water and the pool came to more than the cost of 2 midwives, Soup

Like the woman on Radio 2 said - you don't get any extra prizes for having your baby without any intervention. FGS, we have to endure the pregnancy and most of the upbringing of the child but yeah let's make it really difficult to get the one guaranteed pain relief just to really screw us!

As for the road signs ...... why not just go the whole hog and get us to drive on the other side of the road like the rest of the world so we don't confuse them!!!!!

Snailspace ~ "mine didn't work - would I get a refund?"

Pagan, it's only guaranteed if your delivery unit provides it - and even then, they can and do go wrong.

Well I mean it's the most effective form then PG . I couldn't have gotten through either of my labours without them and that's not for some doctor/midwife to tell me otherwise. Thankfully I had wonderful docs/mw.

I didn't have/want epidurals but I'm against this idea of charging for epidurals. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

What is the motive? If the motive is cost, then everyone should be worried. What part of maternity services will be deemed too expensive and unecessary next? Home births?

If the motive is to reduce the amount of epidurals then there must be alternative ways to tackle that.

I know this idea has been generated by someone at the Royal College of Midwives but it sounds to me like women are being picked on yet again.

unnecessary even.

ahhhhhh, the Royal College of Midwives

need say no more

the words 'planet' and 'not on' are relevant here, ive been to their annual conference

Yep, NP, most recent conversations I've had with RCM spokespeople have been distinctly disappointing. Mind you, I quite enjoyed the one which started with someone who went on at me about how damn natural and enjoyable women found pregnancy, to which I said stolidly that actually I'd found every single minute of both of mine quite appalling, thank you very much.

This is an awful idea. I had epi with ds1 and was so so thankful to whoever invented it. With ds2 I was told that no-one was available to administer it.

Most people pay a lot of tax and get a not exactly fabulous health and education service. IMO it is downright robbery to expect people to pay for epis. Will they next start charging for anaesthetics and operations.

When I was in labour, on the THIRD DAY of strong, painful "ripping" feeling contractions, I offered to pay for an anaesthetist, let alone an epidural....if they ask women in labour to pay, could be a nice little earner for the NHS. I'd have given them my house, and my car as well as my bank account details.

Seriously, what a dreadful idea and if men had babies it wouldn't even have dared to be suggested.

Have they taken into account the costs of treating post-traumatic stress disorder in the women who don't get the pain relief they need?

If men had the babies the population would be extinct.

I have a feeling many midwives just want births to be as natural as possible. They don't want pain relief and c-sections to take over as it makes them redundant. They love nothing more than a woman who gives birth naturally using only a drop of aromatheraphy lavender oil on her cushion for calming effect.

pmsl @ thou shalt not have an epidural.

The NHS is either free, or it isn't. If they want to privatise the whole thing (which Ipersonally think would be an improvement but I accept that most of this country would not agree)then go ahead. But, to selectively pick out pain relief of women in labour is unspeakable.

Thedullwitch, I don't think it is universally accepted medical fact that epidurals stop (or even slow) labour.

As for elective section, utter an complete tosh that they should be paid for. When all elective non-life saving medical procedures are charged for, then you can put elective section on the list.

Yes, Trib, lovely bible quote.

And whoever made the fricken filofax comment about section being simply a matter of convenience. What a completely unfounded and illogical thing to say.

uwila, whilst they may not slow down all labours they certainly do make the pushing stage difficult. And as everyone knows they do lead to a higher level of intervention (forceps C/section etc).

I was talked out of one during my ante natal classes, and nearly talked back into it by myself during labour...