Mobile Epidurals: Anyone had one?

[bananabump]

Hi, was wondering if anyone had any experience of having a mobile epidural, and how they found them? How mobile were you really, and being a lower dose than a regular epidural, is it enough to cover all the pain? could you feel the contractions/when to push? and did it lead to intervention/internal monitoring/episiotomy etc?

Thanks!!

Bananabump - I started a thread on this a couple of days ago here it has lots of useful replies and is still going.

From what people have said there, there are mixed experiences I think. I've no personal experience (it's my first) just looking into it. All the women I've spoken to who've had them love them (and my NCT teacher thinks they are great). On the otherhand lots of mws seem to be quite wary of the idea saying that you're not really mobile and there is also anecotal evidence that they lead to further intervention etc. Mind you I work with a couple of men who are married to doctors who both had mobile epidurals as they'd looked at the medical research and said that the 'studies' quoted on natural birth sites were old (mid-90s and before) and wouldn't apply to modern epidurals. They said that more recent reseach suggested only small increases in risks once you'd controlled for the fact that women with problem pregnancies are likely to have an epidural and also to have further intervention so that skewed the stats. I've no idea what to think!

was just about to link to that catz !!

I had a mobile epidural with DS 7.5 years ago. I was fairly mobile, i.e. I could go to the loo by myself, but I was still wired up, so limited in the distance and places I could go. It did cover all the pain for me as you can top it up when needed. I didn't feel all the contractions during dilatation but was left to feel some towards the very end when I had to push. I had a forceps delivery but DS was big (4.1 kg) and I ended with a 3rd degree tear, so I think it was more to do with his and my size rather than the epidural. Good luck.

I had a mobile epidural 3 weeks ago with ds2. Also had one with ds1 3 years ago.

I was fully able to walk around if I wanted to, go to the toilet etc but was laid down for most of the time as a)I wanted to sleep b) Babies heart was being monitored.

The midwife towards the final stages of my cervix contracting stopped topping up my epidural so I could feel contractions so they were painful but not full on labour pains. I could also def feel to push and managed to push out ds2 in 15 mins and with no stiches or intervension.

DS1 had same thing but was in labour longer as first birth and ended up with stiches (but no other intervension) HOWEVER DS1's head was on the 91st centile

Hi guys, thanks for your answers, sorry I didn't realise there had been a thread on this in the past few days (I did do a quick search for "mobile epidural" but didn't find a dedicated thread, I'm obviously not very good at searching!)

I will have a read of that thread now.

I walked to the loo

bounced on a ball

rocked on the bed

swayed by the bed

I found it mobile enough!

Also had no further interventions, pushed him out, no stitches etc. It gave me the strength to keep going after long labour.

oooh, mrscarrot, can I order one of your births, please??

All sounds positive so far (still need to read that other thread though, getting sidetracked by toblerone and big brother!)

I don't think you really want my birth!

It started friday and finished sunday lunch, had mobile epi early sun morning, which was like a gift from God.

It meant I could keep going and have my vbac.

Gift from God that is exactly what it feels like when it starts working!

Hi bananabump, I too am considering a mobile epi for my labour. I am terribly pain phobic to the point of hyperventilating to collapse and massively raised blood pressure, so I know I need to manage my pain effectively. Lots of people have mentioned hypnobirthing to me, but I know from previous experience of painful things that no amount of relaxation helps. i'm currently 27 weeks so I'm seeing my mw next week and I'm going to bring it up with her then. I've been told to flag up my pain issues early so they take me seriously. I do not want to be on a busy labour ward, at the busiest time of the maternity year and either go hysterical with no one around, or take up three midwives time and possibly leave someone else unsupervised for a bit. I also know the best way of avoiding interventions and long labours is to keep moving, keep upright and use things like the birthing ball etc... so I thought the mobile epi sounded like the best compromise. I'd rather not be strapped to a bed facing an episiotomy and forceps because I can't feel a thing. Whereabouts in the country are you? Have you spoken to your midwife yet? I'll let you know what mine says....

Hey MrsMar, thanks for your thoughts on this, sorry to hear you're painphobic. I am a bit like that with the dentist and I know you can feel really irrational and stupid, but really fear of pain isn't so irrational at all! You're best to do all you can to feel in control, as you said.

I'm under consultant led care rather than the midwife because I'm overweight, and because of this I spoke to a consultant anaethetist a couple of weeks ago who advised me to go for an epidural early on in labour as he considered it to be a delicate procedure made slightly more tricky because of my weight (not that I carry much weight on my back)

So he would like the optimum time available between contractions in order to site the epidural and to get the best possible odds of it being successful, which means catching me before everything gets too hectic, ie when contractions are still 15-20 mins apart.

Which doesn't leave me much time to "see how I get on" really! The way he explained it sounded so rational and calm, saying it would provide adjustable pain relief right the way through labour, and would cover any interventions that may be necessary such as episiotomy, ventouse, forceps, and even a c section as long as it wasn't an emergency one.

My dp thinks it sounds great because as he puts it "You don't let yourself suffer with a headache, you do the sensible thing and take a painkiller... this is no different" (I know, big debate there that I don't want to get into, but on a basic level I can see what he's saying!)

The Anaesthetist said that a mobile epidural isn't a problem, it just means a lower dose, which should allow me feel when to push, but he said I shouldn't expect to be able to march around the corridors with it.

All sounds a bit too simple. I can't shake the feeling that if I go for instant pain relief then I haven't even tried... but then again there are valid reasons behind what he is saying, and I have to keep in mind that I don't have to prove anything to anyone, all I want is a healthy baby at the end of it!

It's all so confusing!

bananabump go for it. Don't feel guilty about not 'trying'. Labour is very very painful. If you can stop the pain why experience it in its entirity is my opinion. You will still get early labour pains which are bad enough and you will experience them towards the end but not to the full extent so you can push.

1st time labour can last a long time. I know a number of people who have been in labour for a day or more resisting epidurals, then towards the end had one anyway as they can't take any more. As you have said what you want at the end of the day is a healthy baby and you to be a happy Mummy and if that means pain relief go for it.

With my 2 epidurals I had no further intervensions other than a tear with DS1 which I'm sure was due to the fact he was a big baby with a big head rather than my choice of pain relief!! DS2 was a big baby again with an epidural but I had no stitches/other intervension or problems. Really don't feel bad about choosing an epidural if that is what you want.

Hi bananabump, I agree with your dp. I'm not sure that we should all suffer pain if there are ways we can manage it better. I do have problems with pain management (haven't been to a dentist for 15 years !!) and some people are lucky enough to be able to manage and cope, some need more help. I put myself firmly in the latter category.

From the research I've done I don't expect to be able to do cartwheels with a mobile epidural, but I think I should have enough movement to get on all fours and feel when to push and not rely on a midwife to tell me when. It sounds like your consultant is being very sympathetic and understanding. I hope my mw is the same.

What concerns me more than anything is if I leave it too much to chance and end up hysterical, I'll put my baby at risk, as my blood pressure goes sky high when I'm in full hyperventilating meltdown. There is no coming back from that situation, last time it took me 6 hours and a lot of valium to get things under control. I feel the risks in that situation are greater for my baby than the risks associated with an epidural of any sort.

Fabby invention.
Being mobile makes such a difference.

Hi bananabump - I remember this thread from a while ago and I thought I'd update you on what I found out at my antenatal class yesterday. If you're still thinking about possible pain intervention, my hospital now consider all their epidurals mobile in that they use lower doses as much as possible. They no longer do the traditional lying on a bed unable to move an inch epi. Movement is a little bit restricted, but you can certainly stand, get on knees or all fours and use a birth ball. According to my midwife you do feel the urge to push though it is a bit reduced.

I`m 39+1 and childbirth-phobic, so have been asking questions about epidurals since before I conceived! My hospital does the mobile kind as well, although really is more low-dose since they prefer you to stay on the bed once it is administered.

I will see how I go, but if pains are bad early on I will be asking for my epi early on.

Just wanted to pass on something my lovely midwife said at my first antenatal class, after a poor nervous mum raised bananabump`s point about trying to get through the pain without anything:

"Remember, no-one gives you a medal for being brave."

My kind of woman.

wow moorhen, can I come to your hospital??? Your midwife sounds great. Not that I think everyone should immediately start totting up the drugs they're going to take, it's refreshing to hear someone who doesn't automatically assume you want to manage on just G&A! On further discussion with my mw, they do prefer you to stay on the bed when they administer the epi, for monitoring purposes towards the end so you can work out when to push, that doesn't mean you have to lie flat on your back, they prefer you to squat or kneel on the bed, or whatever is comfortable, but definitely not lie down.

Hi, thanks for the update MrsMar! moorhen hasve you had your baby yet, and if yes, did you have a mobile epidural in the end?

I might end up having one, the thing that is putting me off is my spd is terrible right now and my hip feels like it's half out of joint sometimes, so I'm scared of doing permanent damage whilst under anaesthetic. But then, I probably run the same risk even if I don't have one!

I'm so sick of caring about this, and the constant uncertainty, I want him out already!

No I haven`t (just started another thread about being week overdue today and having a stretch and sweep this morning. Whimper).

SO hearing your point about wanting him out! The room is ready, the pram is ready, two sets of relatives are on doting standby, the world and his dog are ringing and texting every day for news, I have to start every phone call I make with "Only me - no, nothing happening yet" - and the little tinker just keeps kicking away and ignoring my pep talks.

Aaaaaaargh...

Oh, you poor thing. I'm 38 weeks so not even overdue yet but soooo ready for him to come out. He feels like he has no room and seems to shift about irritably when I lie down etc (I don't give him pep talks so much as "well if you don't like it so much, come out then!") lol

I've never been this uncomfortable and knackered in my life- I naively thought before I got pg that the only thing pregnant women had to deal with was growing a cute bump they could pat. HAH. Add to that two stone of extra weight, varicose veins, stretchmarks, constipation, unstaisfying wees and heartburn and you're close, eh? And that's not counting the spd.

Good luck with your stretch and sweep, if it takes you one step closer to meeting your lo I'm sure it'll be worth it. I'll keep an eye out for your birth announcement. Hope it all goes smoothly for you!