Pros and Cons of an epidural?

[MrsRose2018]

Hi ladies,

I’m 30 and expecting my first baby In July.

I think ideally I would like a natural birth and stick to gas and air as much as possible.

I’m not keen on the idea of having pethadine or diamorphine as I can make you sick/baby dunk/affect first feed but would be interested to hear your thoughts/experiences on epidurals!

Thanks

X

Back pain for the last 25 years. ☹️
I don't know it was definitely caused by the epidural but I think it was. They struggled to put the epidural in and it fell out twice (I think!). and that exact spot has been the epicentre of bad back pain ever since - might not be related though 🤷🏻‍♀️

I had one in 1983. I was 21 and petrified. I didn't want a natural birth. Never did.
The needle is quite large so it makes you jump but not nearly as painful as contractions.
Instant relief. It was amazing. I went on to have a lovely calm peaceful birth with quite a lot of laughter and bonded with my DS right away.
I could not pass urine for a day after due to the epidural so had a catheter but it soon came out.
I'd definitely do it again if I wasn't too old.

I've had back pain for years too but a recent MRI showed it was osteoarthritis and some slipped discs. Nothing to do with the old epidural. They can tell.

Pros: My first was back to back. Had over 2 days of unproductive, bloody excruciating contractions (all in my back). Was utterly knackered. Epidural took away the pain and allowed them to give syntocin to increase contractions.

Cons: I hated being unable to move, wired up to machines and being talked about by medical staff as if my ears had stopped working. Being told when to push was weird, nearly had to have ventouse, baby wasn't breathing for what seemed like forever (which may or may not have been caused/contributed to by the epidural).

I wouldn't choose to have another one. I couldn't have done that labour without one though so I went into second labour with open mind. Had homebirth with nothing but tens machine and it was a million times better than first time around. And, yes, I know there is no medal for a natural birth. But, equally, there are negatives to the pain relief options available. I think you just need to keep an open mind and see how you feel at the time.

I had one with dd2 and it was incredible. I watched Netflix on my phone until it was time to push. No lasting damage.