# pros and Cons of Epidural



## SeaShells

Hi there....
Lately i have been panicking so much with the thought of the pain in labour and i thought well i dont need to be in so much pain, i ll have the epidural but i have heard some not so positive things about...like..it really hurt being done, people have said they still suffering from back pain several months after..So i thought i would ask you experienced ladies for your experiences of the epidural....
Thank you for reading...
xx


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## Eternal

Pros - can take pain away completely


Cons - Doesnt always work 
- can cause extreme headache 
- can cause nerve damage
- some people find them painful - i can honestly say i didnt feel a thing
- tend to lead to more interventions
- cant feel contractions when it comes to time to push 
- can slow labour

i had two failed with my son , and have to have a spinal (its an injection) this time, for my section (breach twins).


The positives can also include speeding up labour as you relax. For some woman it means they can enjoy their labour more. But obviously the main purpose and Pro is pain relief.


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## SeaShells

Eternal said:


> Pros - can take pain away completely
> 
> 
> Cons - Doesnt always work
> - can cause extreme headache
> - can cause nerve damage
> - some people find them painful - i can honestly say i didnt feel a thing
> - tend to lead to more interventions
> - cant feel contractions when it comes to time to push
> - can slow labour
> 
> i had two failed with my son , and have to have a spinal (its an injection) this time, for my section (breach twins).
> 
> 
> The positives can also include speeding up labour as you relax. For some woman it means they can enjoy their labour more. But obviously the main purpose and Pro is pain relief.

Thank you for replying Eternal...
Going to sound dumb now but what is the difference between Epidural and a spinal?? :blush: and when you say you had 2 fail is that they just didnt work..
I dont know alot about epidurals as when i had my last baby 12yrs ago epidurals were not the main pain relief source,it was gas n air and pethadine. Do you have any lasting effects?
Thanks again xx


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## daffire

SeaShells said:


> Hi there....
> Lately i have been panicking so much with the thought of the pain in labour and i thought well i dont need to be in so much pain, i ll have the epidural but i have heard some not so positive things about...like..it really hurt being done, people have said they still suffering from back pain several months after..So i thought i would ask you experienced ladies for your experiences of the epidural....
> Thank you for reading...
> xx

Going only on my experience and not talking about the medical side of it since I honestly never checked. Had epidurals for my two sons, first one did not have any problem at all, acted fast, took the pain away and did felt it when I needed to push, the feeling was different and a sort of natural pressure that had me pushing naturally. Now for my second, I do think they had to re do it, but beyond that, same as the first one. The spot where they did it was more sensitive to the touch for a while afterwards but beyond that I would not hesitate to have it for my next birth if needed.


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## MrsAgar

My epidural sped up my labor! It took the pain of contractions completely away, but when he started coming down the birth canal I could feel extreme pressure and when he crowned I felt intense burning. The pushing went fast... half an hour with no intervention and it was my first baby weighing 9lbs 1oz! It didnt hurt AT ALL getting it done! The only con was having to get a catheter because my legs were a little sleepy.


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## aliss

If your baby has shoulder dystocia (shoulders stuck when head is already out), an epidural will impair your ability to do various maneuvers to help get the baby out (ie. the Gaskin maneuver). 

For the mother, you will almost certainly get an episiotomy (not really an issue compared to the severity of the complication) or intentional breaking of a pubic bone (for the life of me I cannot remember what this is called, sympho-something).

The results can involve a baby with a fractured clavicle (broken collarbone) on purpose to pull them out as the mother cannot assist, erb's palsy (due to forcep use), cerebral palsy, or death from oxygen deprivation. 

My son had a fractured collarbone only, thank goodness, he could have died. I honestly will never forgive myself for it, even though I know it was a rare complication.

As for side effects to me, I was in the gym a week later. Zero effect. I couldn't even feel the insertion of the needle.


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## JeepGirl

Mine was a very positive experience! I got it at 6cm and went from being in so much pain that I couldn't function, to very relaxed and truly enjoyed labour. It didn't hurt at all to get it and even if it did it would have been worth it. After everything was done and they took it out, other than a bit of sticky stuff left from the tape holding it in place, I would have never known anything was there.


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## Beaney192

From personal I can say I didnt have any cons from having the epidural, The pros however were that I could not feel any pain what so ever, I even thought it was funny that my legs did not feel my own. I cant comment on if it hurt when it went in because they put my epidural in I must have been having a mad half an hour and I dont remember any of it. It didnt hurt when it came out, but it took a long time to get rid of the sticky stuff off my skin but thats it really :) :thumbup:


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## SeaShells

Thank you all for your replies...sounds like it was positive experiences for you all...mmmm im enjoying the thought of no pain in labour lol....
Thank you all again..
xx


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## chuck

Heres a link to aspost I made a while back that klinks to a fab 3 part artivel looking intothe pros and cons of epidural

https://www.babyandbump.com/home-natural-birthing/554160-epidural-pro-con-article.html


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## tlh97990

i had a positive experience with my epidural when i finally got it. my doctor broke my water when i was at 6 cm two hours before i got my epidural so i was in extreme pain the anesthesiologist had to try twice to get it in but i didnt feel anything with it because my contractions were hurting so bad. the pain relief was immediate which was amazing. i did need help getting situated in the bed again because i was so numb i was able to take an hour nap before it was time to push. i could feel something coming out but didnt feel any pain or burning like others have said. i was able to adjust my body slightly while pushing and did have a second degree tear. i didnt feel myself tear, didnt feel the stitches, and the doctor also cut a skin tag while i was still numb and didnt feel that either. i know there are risks but i couldnt stand the pain of the contraction and had a great experience with the epidural!


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## chuck

....they broke my epi when prepping me for theatre before giving me another hour to try to dilate...what a joy that was.

BAM agony...ridiculously strong synto ctx that i'd needed gas and air on top of the epi for and the drip got turned up anyway.

Sad thing is I had to tell them it was broken as they swent to top it up and the liquid sprayed across my chest they didnt notice!

I had to have a spinal for the dsurgery...now they are horrible.


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## SAmummy

I have had three epidurals ... For all three births and had fantastic experiences each time. Pushing was not hard .. All three out within 2 or 3 pushes and no tearing or stitches. To say you will almost certainly get an epesiotomy because of the epidural is inaccurate ... My sister also never tore with hers. Chances are you could end up with an epesiotomy anyway even in an unmedicated births. The only thing i would say is with my second it was quite strong so i couldn't gohave a bath till the next morning which was yucky. My last was the best ... It wore off just before it was time to push and i could get up afterward to shower and clean up. With all three i could feel the urge to push ... Just no pain which was awesome. I haven't had any back ache since. the difference with a spinal is that it is a once off injection into the spine which wears off after a few hours. With an epidural they leave a Catheter in your back so they can top up meds. I can honestly say getting it put in was not at all sore ... The most trouble i had was keeping still because i found it tickled ... Weird lol


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## Chiclets

I've experienced both ways. While the epi took the pain away for the most part, I HATED being stuck flat on my back. I felt like I wanted to get up and move but I was stuck. Then I had to wait for it wear off so that I could get up. Didn't end up happening until the next day. The labor without the epi went much better & faster as I was able to listen to my body and get up and move whenever I felt the need to. The pain was manageable and I think I regretted the choice of skipping the epi for all of a minute during that transistional stage around 7-8 cm. The pain broke my concentration at that point so I had to really refocus my mind and focus on my breathing. I loved being able to get up immediately afterwards. And color me crazy but I loved being able to feel my labor and delivery. It was enpowering in an odd sort of way. :)


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## SeaShells

Thank you all so much for sharing your experiences with me, its helped to hear them. Had a good chat with midwife today and she helped to ease my fears a little bit too. 
Thnak you all again 
xx


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## kris c

I had two epidurals, 1st at 4cm and the 2nd at 6 cm,and neither of them worked(they just numbed my legs) so I went to 10cm with just gas and air and it was horrific, now I know I'm just unlucky as nearly all of my friends all had the epidural and swear by it, this is my 1st baby and now I know how painful labour is I would definately have the epidural again in the hopes it will work! Yes your legs are numb for hours and you can't feel yourself pushing(well I could) but who cares if it means you get a pain free end where you can relax and enjoy it..so I say go for it. P.s by the way you don't feel it going in and even if you did you won't care in comparison to your contractions believe me!


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## SeaShells

Please keep your Epidural experiences coming...It really helps to hear so many different experiences. Will be getting DH to read them too as he is nervous of the side effe ts
Thank you all x x


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## Srrme

I had the Epidural with my son. The good thing was, it took the pain away, but the bad thing was, I couldn't feel ANYTHING below my waist (I would have liked to feel something, you know.. I didn't even know when I should push!), and I have back pain occasionally where they gave me the Epidural.


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## AimeeM

With my first son I got the epi at around 7cm, my labour stopped dead for 10 hours. They topped it up before pushing, stupidly enough and I couldn't feel a thing.
It took an hour and 15 mins to push him out and I had an Episiotomy. However he was 9lb 7oz with a 37.5cm head so I can't say that I wouldn't have had trouble if I didn't have the epi.
I felt really ill afterwards and I was so numb I couldn't pick up my baby till hours afterwards. I had the epi at 7am and I was still numb at 7am the following day. It was horrible but I had an immense fear of the pain of childbirth.

With my second son, when the pain got bad stupidly enough my first experience didn't put me off, after all I still thought it was so bad last time as they had overdosed me, I went for an epi at 6.5cm dilated.
It only worked down my right side so I was laid on my left trying to balance it out. It took hours to get from 6.5 to 7cm and then at 7cm it took 35 mins to him being born. By then the epi had worn off on my right side so I could feel everything anyway. So I had an epi for half a cm!

Nathan got shoulder dystocia too and we are really lucky he is here. When I think of what might be it makes me feel so bad. It could have been due to the epi but it is more likely I have been told that he was just in the wrong position as my first son was way bigger and I had an epi but he didn't get stuck. Nathan was 8lb 11oz.

My consultant is still undecided on a section this time as she is monitoring baby's growth by scans. He is looking on the smaller side so far. She is going to decide on how I give birth after my 39 week growth scan if he hasn't come by then. If it is a vaginal birth then I wont be having the epi this time.

So for me, it totally slowed labour down both times and was too much first time and pointless the second time. Although it is a huge relief when you go from major painful contractions to feeling none.


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## aj11

LOVED my epidural. I was able to move my legs, and could feel when it was time to push. I pushed for less than 20 minutes, DID NOT need to be cut and was up to shower in less than 2 hours after giving birth. It also helped me to relax enough to dilate from a 4 (where I had been stuck for hours) to a 10 in a span of less than 20 minutes.

Only downside was a dilated so fast that my daughter "dropped" into the birth canal. she had the cord around her throat and her heart rate dropped for short period of time. They had me change position a couple times and it bounced right back up.

I plan on getting the epidural again for sure if I have to be induced again, and probably will get one even if I'm not! :)


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## kiasuten

Con- how long it takes to get the epidural

I had 3 contractions while getting the epidural, so I had to stay completely still while having this giant needle inserted into my spine.

Pro- (if it works) the pain will be goooooone!

I felt no pain from the boobs down, and my labor was quick, it took less than 50 minutes for me to push, and I had no problems pushing! :)


But, you need to remember that this choice is an individual choice based on personal preferences, and no two women and no to labors are the same. Good luck :)


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## tlh97990

kiasuten said:


> Con- how long it takes to get the epidural
> 
> I had 3 contractions while getting the epidural, so I had to stay completely still while having this giant needle inserted into my spine.
> 
> Pro- (if it works) the pain will be goooooone!
> 
> I felt no pain from the boobs down, and my labor was quick, it took less than 50 minutes for me to push, and I had no problems pushing! :)
> 
> 
> But, you need to remember that this choice is an individual choice based on personal preferences, and no two women and no to labors are the same. Good luck :)

the anesthesiologist was held up in a surgery and i didnt get my epidural until i was at 8 cm and my contractions were like 30 seconds apart sometimes closer because the doctor broke my water when i was at 5 cm 2 hours prior. i was in so much pain and it was hard to sit still during the epidural but i tried concentrating that the pain was almost over it was def. hard though!


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## Statik

I am not having a baby without an epi. Lol! My first was a nightmare to have. He was big, head stuck, and I tore all over the place. The pain was so great (and I am not talking contractions but trying to get his head out and the tearing) that I went into shock and passed out. My life and his were in danger. I should have had a csection, tbh, but that was nearly 17 years ago.
I had my dd 9 years ago, and her birth was so easy. The epi worked great and I was able to push her out with no prob. It was a great experience for me, and recovery was so much easier, too. I didn't tear with her, either. She was big too, btw. 
These are just my experiences and I know that everyone is different and every pregnancy and birth is different, too. To me all that matters is all just about getting the baby out safely, and keeping mom safe during delivery. My greatest joys in life were my babies and I really didn't care much about the whole birth process afterwards. But like I said, we are all different. 
HTH!


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## babyblog

For me it was amazing.Went from being in he'll to actually dozing off.ALl my pain was immediately lifted and I too didn't feel it even going in.I did end up with a c section, whether that was related I will never know but I don't think I could have got through labour without it x


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## HellBunny

Personally i didn't experience any Cons of the epidural, Pro's were it sped up my labour, i hadn't slept a wink for 4 days and because i was so exhausted i stayed at 4cm for 6hours and as i was high risk things had to be sped up. I had a vile back to back induction and without the Epi i'd of been traumatized and never had another baby.


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## JadeEmChar

I haven't had great experiences with epi's due to my size and the inexperience of the administrator.....They put the needle in my spinal fluid rather than my epidural space which is rather a small area so understandable...Not sure what im going to do this time!


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## SeaShells

Thank you all for your replies, i know every labour and women is very different but it is a help to see that for most of you the Epi was positive. It is helpin to slightly ease my panick knowing that if i really cant cope with pain then the Epi is something to consider. My plan is ( i know this could all change) is to stay at home for as long as possible and if and when i cant cope then the Epi will be a possibility....

Thanks everyone :flower:


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## Bentley.

I had a good experience with my epidural, I got it done after i had morphine because after a couple hours that wore off, and I didnt think another shot of it would have done anything, the only hard thing about getting the epidural for me was sitting up and waiting for it to be done, I didnt feel anything when i was getting it put in, only happy that it was finally being done. It allowed me to get some rest and I could actually communicate with the nurse, instead of being to distracted by the pain of my contractions, took only a couple hours to dilate another 4cms, and I could feel the urge to push, only took about 30 minutes of pushing before my son was born.

The only "cons" were feeling itchy, and having a cathader put in, which both werent a big deal at all compared to contractions.
also didnt have any lasting side effects from it. :)


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## NuKe

mine didn't work. AT ALL. 1 in 10 don't. i started panicking when i realised it wasn't going to work. had i not gotten it at all, i doubt i would have panicked like that. the pain was intense but not as bad as you think it's going to be, I'll never have an epi again!


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## indigoblue12

I had an epidural with my first child.She is now 13 yrs.I
had my other 3 children without one.I just used gas and air and a shot of pethedine with the 2nd as it was a long labour.

My first delivery is a blur to me after the epidural was given.I don`t remember it being painful when it was given.I had a reaction to it and my blood pressure dropped,making me faint and almost unresponsive.I ended up with a forceps delivery,although I couldn`t feel anything. I was able to get up and walk after approx 2 hrs...but it felt strange.To this day,I have severe back pain which I put down to the epidural.
From personal experience,talking to other mums and being a nurse,an epidural slows labour down as you can`t feel anything.Its is difficult to push with contractions that can`t be felt.I think it is ok if you are very tired during a very long labour,so you can get some sleep or a rest but otherwise I wouldn`t recommend it. :) Good luck :)


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## Hellodoris

I had a back to back labour and begged for an epi (no idea how many cm I was dilated). It was great relief but it stalled my labour completely meaning I had to have a drip to re-start, then it failed on one side so it got topped up. I could not feel to push at all and relied on the midwife to tell me when too. The epi failed for the 3rd time just at the time the consultant told me I would have to go down to theatre for a forceps delivery. I was stupidly sick on the second lot they dropped in and combined with the spinal I had I couldn't walk till the next day.

From my point of view I'll be doing everything I can to avoid having another one. Each labour and each ladies pain threshold is different though so go with how you feel at the time!X


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## SIEGAL

I had an epidural and it was heaven for the pain to go away. I was at 10 cm when I got it so I was suffering. I got the epidural, took a 2 hour nap, pushed the baby out in less than an hour with zero pain, and some tearing (no episiotamy). So I was pretty satisfied. Only bad part was that I was allergic to whatever tape they used and my ENTIRE back got a terrible rash that spread everywhere. I was suffering, I went to two dermatologists and they gasped when they saw it. But, I would still say its worth it, but if you have sensitive skin ask for an alternative tape or something. 
In the US we dont get TENS, gas and air, hydrotherapy. Its epidural and some demerol and thats it. So, I have no experience with gas and air, maybe its helpful? Demerol is not good enough it just makes you stop rolling around the bed in agony long enough so they can get the needle in your back.


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## krismarie621

My epidural experience was nothing but positive. It was a bit uncomfortable when it was put in - I felt a sting when they numbed the area, and then there was a bit of pressure, but that was it. I felt NO pain after about 15 minutes, but I was still able to feel when I had to push, and I was still able to move my legs fairly well (and I had a regular epi - not a walking one). No back pains, no headaches, no side effects afterward. My labour went from being painful to very relaxing and calm - I was able to close my eyes and rest in between pushing.

I did have a catheter in place, as I think is standard, and I didn't have it removed until the next morning (had LO at 11:48pm and it was removed around 8am), because generally with the epidural you don't feel the need to pee. The only thing I found was that this stayed around for a few days - it wasn't until about 4 days post partum that I was able to feel when I had to pee. 

Otherwise, it was a great experience. My hat goes off to those that can do it without pain medication - but I couldn't.


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## Arisa

its still better than pethidine right? My MW is against it as it can have an effect on the baby moreso than the other options (gas and air, morphine and even the epidural)
My mother had that and aside from throwing up, the pethidine did not help ease the pain and I was apparently very sluggish and slow to respond for the first 24 hours :(


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## Sini

Worst thing for me was having to have a catheter (sp?), it was nasty.


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## hattiehippo

I was very anti epidurals because I didn't want a cathatar or to be confined to a bed in labour. But then I had severe pre-eclampsia and an epidural was recommended to drop my blood pressure and I had to have a catheter for the anti eclampsia medication anyway.

All in all it was a really postive thing - I had it at 3cm (due to the bp problems) and apart from it wearing off after about 15 hours and stopping working on 1 side, it allowed me to get some rest and really did drop my blood pressure so I didn't have to have some other drugs as well.

On the negatives - I had real problems with my left leg straight afterwards - my knee would give way and I had a limp for 3 weeks. I still have some numb patches on my left leg now and can't lie on that side for a long time at night. But that's about it.


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## tlh97990

did everyone that got an epidural have a catheter? i didnt get one i dont know if its because my labor progressed really quick after i got it that it wasnt necessary


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## SIEGAL

tlh97990: You probably did and didn't know. Otherwise you would just be peeing yourself? I was given some narcotics before the epidural so my memory is fuzzy and I was out of it so I totally didn't even know I got one. I just remember telling the nurse "I can't believe I haven't gotten up to pee yet!" and she laughed and held up my bag of pee! ew...haha. Did you have narcotics before the epidural?


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## JeepGirl

tlh97990 said:


> did everyone that got an epidural have a catheter? i didnt get one i dont know if its because my labor progressed really quick after i got it that it wasnt necessary

I didn't have one that they left in. The nurse used a catheter tube to empty my bladder a few times, but then took it out when she was done.


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## AimeeM

tlh97990 said:


> did everyone that got an epidural have a catheter? i didnt get one i dont know if its because my labor progressed really quick after i got it that it wasnt necessary

I didn't have one left in the second time she just used one once to empty my bladder as it was really full. The first time it was just left in.


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## tlh97990

SIEGAL said:


> tlh97990: You probably did and didn't know. Otherwise you would just be peeing yourself? I was given some narcotics before the epidural so my memory is fuzzy and I was out of it so I totally didn't even know I got one. I just remember telling the nurse "I can't believe I haven't gotten up to pee yet!" and she laughed and held up my bag of pee! ew...haha. Did you have narcotics before the epidural?

no i didnt use any narcotics, i was told to go to the bathroom before i got the epidural and after my epidural i laid in bed and slept for an hour then was woke up to start pushing and an hour after that i was told to get up to go to the bathroom and the nurse helped me walk to the bathroom.


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