Panicking about birth, refusal of epidural

[liveinhope100]

Have any women ever been refused an epidural? Can you request or book it in before you go into labour?

I want to feel as in control as possible leading up to the birth but know there are women who have requested an epidural many times and been refused then it’s too late. The worry this may happen is creating huge anxiety as even though I may not go for it in the end I just want to know it will definitely be available.

Any info on this would be appreciated

I think you need to ensure your birth partner is briefed and ready to advocate on your behalf and not take no for an answer.

I had one but had to wait hours because there was only one anaesthetist who was in surgery. I was an induced labour. Make sure your birth partner knows what you want and be as forceful as you need to be but if there is no one available there's nothing you can do.

I asked for one and was so surprised when the midwife just said 'Okay, sure' as I had heard horror stories too.
I was expecting them to make me beg for it but they just went to get the anaesthetist.
I was 4cm and they had just started an Oxytocin drip to help me progress.

I was refused an epidural because although I had a back to back baby wedged fast it was a Friday evening and there were no anaesthetists available. I should have had a CS but instead was left to labour and actually passed out at one point when the pain and exhaustion were too much. Mine was an induced labour too. DH said it was the scariest evening of his life and he’s never felt so helpless.

Make sure your birthing partner knows your wishes and if you want an epidural tell them before it all gets going. Your comfort is important and it took me a long time to get over the experience.

Anyone I know who wanted an epidural got one.

I didn't have one because I didn't need one, I was also pretty quick and wouldn't have had time for one with my second.

Yes giving birth hurts. I'm not going to lie and say it doesn't. But there are risks and cons with every pain relief option so make sure you know what they are so you can make an informed choice

Hello, I want to add something positive. I gave birth at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in August. My biggest fear was also being refused an epidural. My 'birth plan' was to ramp up through the pain relief options ending in epidural if needed but my goal was to give birth in the midwife lead unit if possible.

I was in labour for about 14 hours at home with a tens machine which was brilliant. I then went into hospital, although I wasn't 4cm they admitted me as I was so dehydrated (hottest day on record), I had pethidine which I'm not sure did a lot, I guess it made me relaxed and not really care as much.

I was examined after 24 hours of labour and was only 3cm :( I was really tired by this point so my husband asked for an epidural for me. They agreed and I was transferred to the labour ward. There was a bit of a delay as the midwives were changing shifts or someone was on a break or something. They were also faffing around in the labour ward with some monitoring machine that wasn't working. They gave me gas and air whilst we waited for another monitor and that was brilliant. I think if my labour hadn't been so long I would have stuck on the gas and air for longer.
I think it probably took about 1.5 hours from requesting to getting the epidural in me. Was absolute bliss. I was sitting up chatting away, had a decent meal, slept for about 6 hours then woke up and pushed him out.

I've heard from friends if you're induced, to have an epidural as the hormone drip goes in.

Best of luck to you xx

@AnnaSW1

Exactly the same experience as *@upthewolves* With my first. I was 10 cm before they checked. They refeused to check me and by the time they did they said I was too late for even gas and air.

Same. I was told that I clearly wasn't in active labour and that they wouldn't examine me because at that point my waters had been broken for 12 hours and it wasn't worth the infection risk. When DH finally went mad at them the midwife huffily agreed to examine me and then said 'I can see the baby's head coming'... I honestly think I'd have given birth in the triage room (I didn't even have the curtain around the bed drawn!) if DH hadn't been (very uncharacteristically) ready to make a fuss. I was allowed gas and air, but told it was far too late for anything else, which to be fair was true at that point, DS was born 40 minutes later.

I think if you really want any one particular thing, including an epidural, you need to be prepared to be vocal and 'annoying' about it - I think not wanting to make a scene or embarrass myself is why the midwives just ignored what I was trying to tell them - and tell your birth partner to do the same. Obviously I'm not advocating being rude or aggressive to HCPs doing a very hard job, but this isn't the time to be meek and compliant, and they give as many medals for being the politest woman in labour as they do for doing it with no pain relief: absolutely none.

@Lisa78Lemon that’s so good, I need the name of your midwife and the hospital 😂

@Okbutnotgreat that really sound awful I can only imagine how distressing it must have been. I know my birth partner will be forceful but I just know they could easily say there isn’t one available and there might not be. I wonder if I get a private midwife that can be there at the hospital and organise it in advance!

[quote liveinhope100]@Lisa78Lemon that’s so good, I need the name of your midwife and the hospital 😂

@Okbutnotgreat that really sound awful I can only imagine how distressing it must have been. I know my birth partner will be forceful but I just know they could easily say there isn’t one available and there might not be. I wonder if I get a private midwife that can be there at the hospital and organise it in advance![/quote]
I doubt a private midwife can do that.

Usually why women can't have them is because the anesthetist is busy with c sections / emergencies or you really are too far gone.

Transition is the most painful bit but it is the time when you can't really have an epidural.

Like I say, everyone I know who wanted or needed one got one. No issues.

I had the opposite experience, I didn't want an epidural, but there was meconium in my waters so came under pressure to have one. When they put me on constant trace so I couldn't get off the bed, I could no longer cope with my contractions and agreed to the epidural... However when the anaesthetist arrived, I needed to push and baby arrived 4 contractions later. Midwife was very surprised, as she had not long since examined me and pronounced me 4cm, but I guess DD was in a rush.

"I wonder if I get a private midwife that can be there at the hospital and organise it in advance!"

No, a private midwife is pointless if you plan to go into hospital. Most women who hire a private midwife have a home birth. The reason is that a private midwife can't do the job of a midwife once you go into hospital; the hospital midwives take over and you've effectively got a very expensive and overqualified birth partner with you!

OTOH, it's worth considering hiring a doula as they can support and advocate for you in the hospital. IME a doula can be a lot more helpful than a husband/partner as they have experience of attending births and they tend to be able to stay calm (whereas some men find it stressful to see their loved ones in pain, understandably and can be a bit useless).

The same thing happened to me as many here, outpatient induced, told I wasn’t dialated and they wouldn’t check for a while when I came back in contracting strongly, was 7cm by the time I was finally sent to labour ward from triage after my husband kicked off and baby born half an hour later. It’s concerning that so many people weren’t being listened to when they progressed faster than the norm?
No time for the epidural I didn’t originally want, but was desperate for after the rapid labour. I’d recommend making it very clear from the very beginning.

I think the thing to do is flag up your anxiety at every opportunity. Tell your midwife/GP/consultant at all your appointments — that way it’s all over your notes before you go in to have your baby — they can’t miss it. They read your notes before they read your birth plan. Get your birth partner to support your wishes and not be brushed off. If a medical induction is advised only sign/agree once you have the anaesthetic nurse/anaesthetist there — Dig your heels in, stick up for yourself, and don’t be intimidated. They might know how your body works, but you know best your own mind. Best of luck!

When I had my oldest, my labour stalled and they advised a drip to get things going. I wouldn’t have it until I’d had an epidural, following a pretty horrible experience my sister had had. They were a bit surprised, and said it wasn’t usual practise and I should see how I did, but I was adamant and so they called the anaesthetist. No regrets.

Just a question to everyone who had these experiences, did you complain afterwards? Or are you just focusing on the newborn by that time?

Im due in 6 weeks and I'm weary of these stories, and I know I'm someone who probably wouldn't let it go if something went wrong that traumatised me.

If its what you already know you want dont wait until you're in agony and don't agree to take other pain relief before. Just be very clear that its what you want and don't stop reminding them. That was my strategy anyway!
I had it in my mind that they sometimes refuse so I made my intentions very clear from the off.
I was induced and the drip was excruciating with no break between contractions. I do think without the drip and contractions developing naturally it would be bearable without epidural but each labour is very different.
If I do it all again I would make my birth plan very clear... gas and air and epidural ASAP.
Good look OP!

Also... having had the epidural. I do wonder why it isn't a standard thing in all labours. Why should we just have to get on with it and be in pain when there's medicine available to stop it.
My epidural was put in when my pain was unbearable... why not cut that out and have it in ready to keep mum comfortable. The whole process of child birth baffles me really.
It shouldn't be no pain no gain but unfortunately it is!

I had no issues having an epidural. Fully supported by everyone

They can't give u it before they start inducing u to the previous poster who suggested it as for some people (like me) inductions fail and can take days!

However when the pessary and gel hadn't worked and they were putting me on the drip they gave me the epidural then. Because the drip is time limited, they only let it go on so long before they go to c section (which is what happened with me)

But it was their suggestion to do it then. That was how supportive they were

Because I was so tired (3 day labour) I got to the point my body was physically exhausted and I said can I have it and the midwife said no as I was 10cm dilated.

@akg89

Also... having had the epidural. I do wonder why it isn't a standard thing in all labours. Why should we just have to get on with it and be in pain when there's medicine available to stop it. My epidural was put in when my pain was unbearable... why not cut that out and have it in ready to keep mum comfortable. The whole process of child birth baffles me really. It shouldn't be no pain no gain but unfortunately it is!

Epidurals aren't risk free. They don't always work and can leave women with backaches and headaches for years after.

Yes they are great but not some panacea that everyone needs or should have.

Yes labour is painful but honestly, for the second birth, the risks didn't outweigh the positives for what would have been about 30 mins of pain freedom

First time round I was encouraged to have one - “you’re not in proper labour but not coping with the pain, we’ll induce you in the morning, so have an epidural and sleep tonight”, well lo and behold I was fully dilated when they examined me after the epidural. That said I couldn’t feel a thing after the epidural and so couldn’t push properly, so ended up with forceps.

Second time round, they gave me syntocinon to speed things up (Stuck at 6cm for 4 hours) at which point I insisted on an Epidural. That one was much better, I could feel pressure but not pain and so could push effectively (1 push for head, 1 for body and done).

I wasn't refused one. I wrote that I wanted an epidural if I couldn't cope with pain. I was 7cm and was refused diamorphine (thank god) and they said I had two choices that had to make immediately 1) continue with gas and air or 2) get and epidural as stated in my notes. I of course chose the latter. I was lucky as it was a Monday evening and an anaesthetist was available. I had to move from the birth centre onto the main ward which I remember felt like a road to hell with contractions in between, my eyes were popping from the pressure and trying not to scream the place down and trying to breathe at the same time. The move from the birth centre to the main ward to finally getting the epidural took a total of 40mins. I was very lucky. Make sure you have it in your notes that you want Epidural.

@Dontjumptoconclusions

Just a question to everyone who had these experiences, did you complain afterwards? Or are you just focusing on the newborn by that time?

Im due in 6 weeks and I'm weary of these stories, and I know I'm someone who probably wouldn't let it go if something went wrong that traumatised me.

I didn't complain as such, but I did go for a birth debrief with a midwife when DS was maybe about 6 months old, as I found there were aspects of the birth that were still bothering me. She went through my notes with me and apologised for some aspects of my care (which surprised me, as I had assumed that saying sorry would be forbidden for liability reasons), which I found really helpful.

Stupidly I didn’t complain afterwards. I wish I had though, the list of errors was very long and it was a horrible frightening experience. The emergency was happening when I arrived on the labour ward so why they started the induction is beyond me, there was no urgent medical need.

The only way to guarantee pain relief is to get a c section.
I laboured for many hours without an epidural despite me asking repeatedly for one. There was no one available apparently.
Don’t pin your hopes on getting one please. It’s no guarantee