Having a baby is such a breeze with this (Epidural)

Member Name: Claribella

Product:	Epidural
Date:	10/12/08 (145 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: can't feel a thing

Disadvantages: can have some long term problems

An epidural is an injection into your spine which numbs the whole bottom half of your body so you feel no pain. It is slightly different from a spinal tap because the dosage can be adjusted and it will last as long as you need it to whereas a spinal tap only lasts for a certain amount of time.

When you ask for an epidural the staff get you to sign a form saying that you have permitted it to take place because there are risks.

The injection is so close to your spine that it if you move suddenly then it could cause permanent damage. The girl that did mine asked me to tell her when a contraction had pasted so I didn't move with the pain.
Some people are left with permanent backache and I know a lot of people that have sufered from really bad headaches and migraines after having this procedure.
Another negative thing to having an epidural is that the majority will end in an assisted delivery (forceps/ventouse/c section)because of the fact that you can feel where to push from.

During the pregnancy of my first son I imagined that I'd have mini contractions, my waters would break and it would happen naturally but unfortunately I went past my due date and had to be induced. I was given pessary after pessary and the contractions finally came with no build up and they hurt like crazy. I thought I had a high pain threshold but this was like nothing I'd ever experienced before!

The labour was long and eventually after hours of coping with contractions that were a minute apart and lasting about a minute or longer I caved in and asked for something. They gave me pethidine (I wasn't even offered gas and air!) and checked to see how far dialated I was. Before the midwife did the check she was sure that I'd be ready to go down to the labour suite because my contractions were so close together and lasting along time. Unfortunately I wasn't even a centimetre dialated! I was gutted!

I coped with the pain for hours on end and eventually I was ready for the labour suite. The first thing I said when I got there was 'When can I have the epidural?'. Thankfully they replied with 'Whenever you want'.

I had to sit up straight on the bed and the anesatist put a needle into my back. I can't remember it hurting because I was in so much pain with my contractions. It worked for one side of my body but not the other so they upped my dose and it was fine. I had a sleep and got woken up by the midwife when I was ten centimetres dialated.

When it was time to push I obviously couldn't feel when so my midwife had to tell me. At first I was pushing and my head felt like it was going to explode. I had to really stop and imagine where to push from. The only way i could do this was to think of my pelvic floor muscles, imagine where hey are situated ad push from there rather than from my head and face which is what I was doing. It did work because within two minutes of pushing, Noah was out and screaming!

After I had had Noah I was ranting and raving about how good the epidural was and how I would definately have it again. Over time I changed my opinion. I just felt like a failure and it almost felt like I had cheated. I didn't feel a thing. I felt gutted that I didn't feel the contractions and the need to push and let my body do what it should have naturally done. It was just very medicalised. I had my second son at home on the sofa without any pain relief (see my home birth review) and Ican honestly say that I would try and not to have the epidural again because it just took alot away from the whole experience. However I do understand that it is effective when you are having a long labour and just need some rest.

Summary: Great for long labours