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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

Wait...why aren't we all having epidurals as standard?

80 replies

HeidiHole · 15/04/2012 10:57

This is probably a really stupid question but I can't help wondering.

I'm (almost) 36 weeks and have been doing my hypnotherapy CD and planning my water birth. However I suppose with the birth looming I'm getting more nervous and wondering how I'll cope with the pain.

On One Born Every Minute I've seen a few ladies opt for an epidural. Then they're all calm, they seem to nap a bit, drowsy and then someone wakes them up, tells them to push and the baby is out! over-simplified

I wouldn't go for a tooth extraction and play the hero and say no no it's OK deep breathing will do me, you can save your anesthetic in the gum for someone else. So why am I doing this with probably the most painful thing I'll ever experience?

Am I missing something? I've read that epidurals are extremely safe (obviously nothing has zero risk but if I was going for an operation/dental procedure etc i'd accept the risk and have the pain relief as would everyone else!)

OP posts:

Alamaya · 15/04/2012 11:00

Firstly hun not everyone will need one.
My labour was stupidy short lol but gas and air took me to a magical place i felt no pain lol.
Epidurals have some issues. They can not work properly. can give you headaches. My mum had back pain for years after having one.

Believe me with my baby i said epidural all the way and when it came down to it i no where near came close to wanting one.
For this bump i am going with the mindframe that i will start with g&a but if my labour happens to be longer than the previous 57min one then im not ruling epidural out :)

good luck hunny

DinahMoHum · 15/04/2012 11:01

having had both medicated epiduraled up hospital birth, and two natural homebirths, id choose unmedicated every time

curlywurlycremeegg · 15/04/2012 11:03

For me it is because an epidural increases the chances of needed on instrumental or operative delivery, they can also increase your need for artificial augmentation (syntocinon drip) and that for me contractions are a positive thing, they were the feedback that my body was working and labour was progressing, I felt they made me more in tune with what was going on and I could work with positioning, breathing and non pharmacological methods of pain managment to work through my labour. It's just down to person choice at the end of the day, hope you find the choice that works for you :)

Clary · 15/04/2012 11:05

I didn't have one as I wanted to move around. I hated the idea of a catheter and being immobile on the bed while someone held my knees round my head and told me when to push.

With DS2 in particular, I was walking about, sitting on a birthing ball, managing it really well. When I needed to push I knew and it was done in a very short time.

Epidurals are safe, yes, but empirical evidence shows that they are likely to lead to a higher level of intervention because labour can slow down if you are immobile, and you don't know when to push so well (as I understand it), so that's another factor to consider.

Good luck whatever you decide OP!

TheHonMrsP · 15/04/2012 11:05

Because it's completely different to a tooth extraction! It is positive pain, like when you are running, not 'something's wrong' pain.

I have done it twice without so much as a paracetamol. Now I'm not saying that some people don't find it painful, but I didn't.

I didn't really experience it as pain - certainly not the second time. A bit stingy/ouchy, but def not pain.

I know I would have had very different births with an epidural. And not in a good way. I couldn't have moved for a start. Flat on my back - couldn't have coped with that. Not knowing when I was having a contraction? Reduced pushing etc. Cascade of intervention. No thanks!

FluffStar · 15/04/2012 11:05

Yeah me too, it's more "not fancying being cut/torn open" rather than any heroics on my part!

Original poster

HeidiHole · 15/04/2012 11:09

Ah right this is putting a different slant on it! I was beginning to think I was crazy as I'm not a hero and I hate pain :)

Back to my hypnobirthing CD then... baby was 7lb at 35 week scan so i'm terrified he'll be huge feeling positive that gravity combined with his heavy weight will make him fall out easily.

OP posts:

bettybat · 15/04/2012 11:10

Yes definitely more afraid of intervention/assisted birth than the pain my body will bring on! I'm more scared of forceps than contractions, long labour, tearing etc! It did seem to me that from watching many episodes of OBEM, there did seem to be a link between epidurals and assisted births.

Plus I want to be active, and the thought of being immobile is pretty worrying. I hate the idea of being flat on my back, a passenger in my child's birth than an active participant. I read gravity is your friend - that if you can squat, stand up, sit up on a ball or whatever, the baby can twist and turn its way down the birth canal much easier.

So as much as I am nervous about contractions, exhaustion, and tearing...it's definitely the lesser of two "evils"!

flossiXxX · 15/04/2012 11:11

I had an epidural with my 1st and it was amazing i made it 2 8cm/9cm then had an epidural! I could feel when to push but with no pain what so ever! It was amazing! Up until after i had her! As soon as they put her on me she had to be taken off me and i was sick, then my blood pressure dropped dangerously low! I was in and out of consiousness for around 4 hours or so and the only time i would awake was to be sick. I didnt even know epidurals had side effects but apparantly one side effect is that your blood pressure can drop, although it is very rare!
Unfortunately it happened to me, so this time round i dont want one although i would definately have one again if it didnt disagree with me!
Some people its amazing some people its not! Its all a matter of the person =)! x

lynlynnicebutdim · 15/04/2012 11:12

I had an Epi. Loved every minute of it. Have never understood the martyrdom complex some women get about labour. There are no medals at the end, just a baby either way.

There is very little evidence for this cascade of intervention stuff that people come out with against epidurals. People confuse causation with correlation. Those with more complicated labours are more likely to need an Epi but the Epi doesn't cause the complicated labour.

EightiesChick · 15/04/2012 11:13

I think the point is though that women seem often to be fobbed off when asking for an epidural. If a woman doesn't want one, as most posters so far here didn't once in labour, then fair enough, but if you ask for one, you should IMO get one. Zoe Williams has written about the way you can ask and ask and are told it's too early only then to be told 'too late you're nearly having it now' and no epidural. I think it is Zoe Williams who also points out that epidurals only make labour longer by something like 37 mins, and that 37 mins not in pain is much better than a long time with pain. Don't have the text to hand - would have to check and come back later.

Thefoxsbrush · 15/04/2012 11:15

I like to be in control of what's happening, wanted to stay mobile, wanted a waterbirth, didn't want a catheter and wanted to be at home as soon as possible after giving birth (was discharged after 2 hrs with my 3rd-doubt this would happen if I'd have had an epidural)

Thefoxsbrush · 15/04/2012 11:16

Just to add though- although I wanted a waterbirth for my first baby, I was definitely open to having an epidural if I felt like I needed one.

Belmo · 15/04/2012 11:19

I didn't want one! Don't like needles, hated the thought of not being able to feel my legs. Managed absolutely fine with nothing til 9cm then had gas and air, tbh if I could have knocked myself out for the pushing stage I would have but it was over quickly then I could stand up and go for a pee! I'd do it the same next time :)

Sirzy · 15/04/2012 11:20

It is entirely your decision how you plan for things to go, I would always say be open to all options though.

If you get a chance before your labour to talk to the anethsatist about epidurals then do. I was induced so whilst waiting for anything to happen he came around the ward talking to waiting women. He was great gave very clear information about the pros and cons and helped to confirm my decision that unless needed it wasn't something I personally wanted.

As it happens I was told after Ds was born that had I had an epidural then chances are I would have ended up with an emergency c section so I am pleased I made the right decision for me and Ds at the time.

ScrambledSmegs · 15/04/2012 11:22

Mine worked well...too well. I asked to have a walking epidural but ended up (after midwife ignored instructions and gave me a mega 'top-up') completely numb from the waist down. I couldn't push. Ended up with a horrific intervention-filled birth that I had flashbacks to periodically.

I don't think I could go to a labour ward again, unless I was unconscious. And I won't ever have another epidural, I don't care how much pain there is.

SamraLee · 15/04/2012 11:24

A lot of people are mentioning about when they watch One Born Every Minute, I would suggest watching One Born Every Minute the US version. You can watch it on 4oD. In the US an epidural is more the norm and almost every woman has one. That way it will give you a better idea of how different women react to it. In the UK I find it's portrayed very differently to the US. Just something to think about :).

mercibucket · 15/04/2012 11:25

Mostly because they won't have the staff to give you one or monitor you, tbh
Sorry to be cynical
Hypnobirthing sounds awesome though

bettybat · 15/04/2012 11:27

Oh, yes yes yes to the water birth!

I don't think it's about being a martyr at all....it's just about having a preference. Just as much as you're entitled to forgo the things I want to experience, I'm entitled to want to forgo what I would consider to be the downsides to an epidural.

It's a scales of wants/ not wants. It's not that I want pain but rather, I want to be active. I want a water birth, I don't want be on my back. Whatever positives there are to an epidural is entirely personal to the individual - my individual preferences lean towards not having an epidural.

littlemissnormal · 15/04/2012 11:29

I had an epi with DC1 but not with DC2 and I'm planning on not having one this time with DC3.

9 hours and every type of intervention going apart from c-section, catheterised and a week to sit down properly compared to 1.5 hours (not nec down to the epi I know) but walking straight after giving birth makes me sure!

Heswall · 15/04/2012 11:31

I have had one with an epidural and three without, including a back to back birth.
I can honestly say I would now have a lot of things without painrelief that I used to accept as standard because I know I can cope and it actually isn't as bad as people like to make tbh.
Everyone likes a good war story about how brave they were in labour and actually it's fine, the end is painful but usually quick.

Abcinthia · 15/04/2012 11:34

Personally, I didn't want an epidural. I talked to my mum (who had 3 births without), my aunt (who had an epidural), my midwife (who had 1 birth without, 1 with and 1 Emergency C-Section) and looked online. But I did write in my birth plan that I might change my mind when I'm actually in labour.

In the end, it didn't matter as I had a fast labour and nothing could be given except Gas & Air.

Meglet · 15/04/2012 11:34

I didn't want one as I need to be in control. TBH I thought my brain would explode from the pain (I didn't talk, scream or shout, just went silent) and the midwifes kept asking me if I wanted anything but I needed to be clear-headed. (This was all irrelevant when they realised my cervix was broken and I was drugged up to the eyeballs for an EMCS ).

FluffStar · 15/04/2012 11:37

Well I'm really annoyed to hear the "cascade of intervention" is a load of bolloks having had two births on just G and A.

Although I had textbook deliveries, no tears/cuts and two healthy babies which was the outcome I wanted more than anything I suppose. Probably wouldn't change it now but grr anyway!

Daisybell1 · 15/04/2012 11:41

I loved my epidural! I was being induced so was already 'tethered' to a drip stand. It was a light touch one and so I could still walk, go to the loo, sit on the birthing ball.

Reducing blood pressure is a side effect, but that can also be positive - mine was going ever up and so it was one way of solving this.

I did end up with a section but this was in no way related to the epidural (no amount of the drip would bring on contractions and so I didn't get beyond 3cms)

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