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Pregnancy

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

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Original poster

giving birth with epidural

49 replies

ranirani · 03/07/2008 19:45

how doe s this work? is it painful to get it done and also do you feel any pain through giving birth?, where they inject the drug and WHAT happens afterwards?? To they use forceps to take a baby out, anything else I should know?
thanks x

OP posts:

star6 · 03/07/2008 20:01

thanks for asking this! I want to know all I can about this as well.
bump!

LyraSilvertongue · 03/07/2008 20:05

I've had two epidurals.
First they inject a local anaesthetic into your skin so you don't feel the big needle going in. It was pretty much painless.
The relief after 12 hours of agonising contractions was immense. But, depending on the type you have, you could lose the use of your legs for a few hours so you'll be immobile.
You'll also have to have a catheter as you won't be able to feel when you need a wee.
DS1 was eventually born by emergency CS, which was quick and painless, and DS2 needed the help of the ventouse.
The epidural can slow down your contractions so you're more likely to need intervention so if you're managing without it then don't do it. But keep it as an option because you don't know how you'll cope with the pain till it happens.

milknosugar · 03/07/2008 20:10

i had 2. first one i really appreciated as it let me get some sleep, you dont feel anything after the needle goes in and i remember very little about that bit, i dont think i felt much at all. it wore off by the time i needed to push, they wont top it up if you are too close to delivering. 2nd time i didnt want one as you cant move around the same and i didnt want the needles in me as i felt too restricted. mw bullied me into it and then it didnt work anyway. needles didnt hurt that time either but it was in my way and didnt help the pain.

dont assume you will need one, ds3 was the best birth ever, no drugs at all, just water. best experience by far. if you want one thats fine too but dont go in demanding one for the sake of it, keep an open mind.

Ambi · 03/07/2008 20:13

With my epidural, I didn't feel the injection, just the contractions continuing, then mellowing to nothing. The MW kept checking my leg with cold alcohol to see if I could feel anything (I couldn't) and I spent the next 3 hours in bliss, chatting away to Mum, DH and MW. I didn't feel anything, MW checked at a certain point to see how I was progressing and apparently the head was ready - a couple of pushes and baby was out. I felt nothing at all.
Once the placenta was out and I was stitched up (I did have a bad tear) - again no pain, the MW administered the catheter to empty my bladder. I was whisked down to the ward to recover, I think the feeling came back in my legs about 4/5 hours later and the stinging downstairs appeared.
I didn't need forceps but I believe that they are more common in epidurals.

wickedwitchofwestburymount · 03/07/2008 20:16

I had one with my first child, and I really cant complain about any part. Didnt feel the needles etc, in fact cant really remember much about that bit other than trying to curl over my bump.

I didnt have a catheter fitter though, so dont know about that.

I didnt have it topped up at all, didnt feel anything while I was pushing, and didnt have ventouse or forceps either.

With my second child I had not pain relief at all because there wasnt time (was only in labour 25 mins).

This time, I am just going to go with whatever happens really. I have never done a birth plan and not going to bother this time either.

Good luck!!

thisisyesterday · 03/07/2008 20:17

hi ranirani

my epidural was slightly painful, but you don't really care by then because you just want the pain relief lol. it was a bit uncomfortable, but nothing major.

I personally found it very, very difficult however when it got to the pushing bit because I just couldn't feel anything (obviously). Midwife had to tell me when I was having a contraction so I could push, and apparently I was pushing wrong. so it wasn't great from that point of view.
I also ended up with a ventouse delivery.

Epidurals can be great, and a lot of women swear by them. However you are more likely to need a forceps/ventouse delivery if you have had an epidural. and this in turn can affect your start to breastfeeding.
Obviously there are women out there who have epidurals with no problems whatsoever, but just beware that it coulc potentially cause problems.

thisisyesterday · 03/07/2008 20:18

sorry meant to add too, that epidural can slow contractions down which means you'll need syntocin or whatever to speed them up too.

fwiw, I had all pain relief going with ds1 and it wasn't great.
ds2 was born at home with no pain relief and it was a much, much better experience.

Original poster

ranirani · 03/07/2008 20:37

that is a tricky one : to push whilst you feel nothing But if it eases the pain, then it's great... thanks for good response x

OP posts:

star6 · 03/07/2008 20:45

hold on - some of you say that you felt nothing during the whole thing and others that they wouldn't top it up near the end and you could feel it at the end... how can you make sure the epidural lasts so that you don't feel it all the way through?
And anything to relieve the "stinging" afterward? How long does that last and does it hurt every time you wee?

thisisyesterday · 03/07/2008 20:48

you can't make sure it lasts, because no-one can predict how long your labour will be really.
obviously if you're not ready for pushing etc then they'll presumably top it up for you.l but if baby is on the way then I don't think they would.

LyraSilvertongue · 03/07/2008 20:48

Star6, I was given Lignocaine (a local anaesthetic gel) to take home to apply to the episiotomy after DS2. It kind of worked but I was still in lots of pain.
My mw/doc had no problem topping me up. Some will let it wear off, some wont. I think you get to choose.

star6 · 03/07/2008 20:50

is the episiotomy tear or natural tear pain less painful than aftermath of a c section?

thisisyesterday · 03/07/2008 20:51

I haven't had a c-section, but know people who have and would say yes, tear or episiotomy far nicer to deal with.
it stings, but it's not that bad,
unless you're unlucky enough to get a really bad tear, but that's not that common

LyraSilvertongue · 03/07/2008 20:52

I found the cs scar hurt less and healed quicker but I was given heavy duty painkillers.
The episiotomy made sitting down and walking very painful for about 2 weeks.

thisisyesterday · 03/07/2008 20:53

and bear in mind you may not tear at all, or need an episiotomy

star6 · 03/07/2008 20:55

how do you know if you will tear or need episiotomy? I think I will... I'm not that big there... still hurts to have sex sometimes. Maybe cs is better option after all.

LyraSilvertongue · 03/07/2008 20:55

You may not tear naturally, but if you end up with a ventouse or forceps delivery you'll almost certainly have to have an episiotomy.

star6 · 03/07/2008 20:57

f* this is getting scary again.

LyraSilvertongue · 03/07/2008 20:57

Star6, I know it's scary but at least give natural birth a try. have things like gas and air and epidural available in case you need them. You don't know how you'll cope till it happens.

lulumama · 03/07/2008 20:58

your vagina is designed to stretch for childbirth. perineal massage can help.

also, the pain that you feel and the expulsive desire is very helpful in birthign your baby, there are a lot of pain relief options that you can use before an epidural

for instance a water birth can be incredibly soothing and can help your tissues stretch and relax and make it less likely that you tear

by all means have an epidural, but there are disadvantages too as have been pointed out

LyraSilvertongue · 03/07/2008 20:58

Many people have fantastic birth experiences. You could be one of them. Keep an open mind.

star6 · 03/07/2008 20:59

I don't know...
the shortest amount of time it has ever taken me to get a smear test is 35 minutes... just can't deal with things like that.

lulumama · 03/07/2008 20:59

c.s is not a pain free option either !

do some inspiring reading, this is an exicitng journey!

lulumama · 03/07/2008 21:00

can you get some help with this before the baby comes?

sounds like a psychological issue too?

lulumama · 03/07/2008 21:00

can you get some help with this before the baby comes?

sounds like a psychological issue too?

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