Pain free birth (Epidural)

Member Name: LIZR315

Product:	Epidural
Date:	09/12/08 (133 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: very little pain and a very relaxed birth experience.

Disadvantages: None for me

If you are pregnant and are rubbish with pain, definitely consider an epidural. Even if you are ok it is definitely worth thinking about when and if you would have one before you go in to labour.

My experience was really good when I had one and if I have baby number two I will be having one as soon as I can!

First things first. Not all birthing centres offer the facility to have an epidural. I had a choice between my local hospital that did or a midwife led unit at another hospital that didn't. I chose the one that did just in case.

You have to be quite insistent that you want one as there are stories of midwives trying to persuade women not to have one. It is more costly for the hospital and more time consuming, so be bolshie and ask for it if you want it.

My friend had had one and said it was great but I thought I would probably be able to manage without. However 5 hours into labour I knew the pain was not for me. I didn't even bother with gas an air and demanded an epidural. The midwife was really good and said that's ok.

You might have to wait a while if the anaesthetist is in theatre - luckily for me she wasn't and within half an hour she was there. My saviour!
You have to sit up and lean forward and they insert the needle / tube into your spine in between contractions. It doesn't hurt anymore than the contractions. They tell you the possible side effects and that it might not work . Mine didn't work 100% initially so she came back and adjusted it and it worked perfectly. Drugs are released by a timed mechanism but you also get a button to top it up.

From then on I was strapped up to a baby monitoring machine. But..
The pain had gone and I went to sleep for a few hours! My contractions stopped as I was so relaxed so they had to give me more drugs to start it off again. I lost all control of my legs so needed support to hold them up at the pushing stage. You have no sensation below the belly button so you have to told when to push but you can't feel the push so you have to imagine you are going a number two.

You are more likely to need assistance if you have an epidural and I needed forceps.

After the birth it was over an hour before I regained sensation in my legs and they were still a bit jelly like.

The wonders of modern medicine!

Summary: The choice for a pain free birth