re: Epidural Information: pls read before getting one!

Quoting Everett's MaMa:" It really sickens me reading the labor stories on this site. Its just the norm to get induced, get the ... [snip!] ... on that because theirbeing drugged up. They don't believe that they can do it naturally because they've been told they can't."

all women r diff sum can tolerate pain better den others me personal cant take much pain I've had 4 kids n used a epi wit all of dem n had no effects behind da use of a epi i swear by it n plan on using it wit tis birth also i think more power to u if ur able to do it wit out a epi bt im nt going to knock the women who cant do it wit out it like me i say y put urself through all dat pain when u dnt have to just my opinion

wow its really helpful see this on here im only 18 and this will be my 1st child im scared to death and knowing this helps alot thanks for all the info

i had an epi and pain meds. me and my daughter were fine.

I had an epidural with my last child because everything I attempted to do to relieve the pain naturally was inhibited by nurses telling me you need to lay in the bed to monitor the baby. I tried to walk around with the portable monitor and every other step the baby would move and there was the nurse telling me i needed to stay still so they could monitor. i wanted to use the jet bath same problem i got on the birthing ball and it felt like they were making it impossible to ease the pain on my own. I ended up getting so stressed from the nurses and the pain that i got one. It did not take on 1 side of my body i could feel all of the pain on that side. It ended up being pointless to get it because after that I could not do anything but lay there still in pain. This is my LAST baby and I am determined to things my way. I have a midwife and as long as this baby gets a clean bill of health on my 20 week ultrasound my midwife will be delivering my baby. I do NOT want an epidural i want to be allowed to walk or bathe or use the birthing ball or what every it is i feel will help with the pain with out being harassed by nurses. of course i am okay with intermittent monitoring to make sure the baby is tolerating things well. I feel that babies and woman were made to endure the process of labor and child birth and that there is no need to be monitored the entire time during labor. Not to mention it really is so much easier to push when you are not numbed by epidural, you can feel the contractions as well as the extreme need to push which help so much to get that baby out faster. Looking forward to enjoying everything about the labor when the time comes and that includes the pain.

i had an epi with my first two and missed out on walking the halls. this one im doin all natural.

i was very sceptical about having one as stuff like that petrifies me but after 30 hours and some complications i had no choice but too and she was out in no time its not all bad .

i never had problems after getting an epidural shud always get it wen ur close to giving birth anyway bcz the risk of anythign happening is low. just saying,

I have never considered an epidural. When my aunt was in labor, she got an epidural and it tapped her spine causing her to lose consciousness for hours. She was also temporarily paralyzed from the waist down. They had to perform an emergency c-section.

Quoting Cameron and cayleighs mom:" yeah and all i'm saying is make sure you tell them to first check with there physician before making ... [snip!] ... there doctor. not put this information above a medical decision best carried out by a professional not you. wow this is insane"

i agree...consult ur physician first before making any dicision..we dnt need to depend only on wat we have read online or what the other people did experience about it...actually wat i do is read online most of the time about this information it helps me educated about those stuff but i also ask my ob about those information about what i have read online just to make sure if it's the right thing to do or not..And you are right , it kinda scares me when i read about what dis she posted on here about the risk of having epidural coz i have 10 more weeks to go and i have planning to get an epi for a pain relief....it would be so nice to read about the information that she posted but in my own opinion,i am still asking my physician if what is the best for me and dats what i will do!Best thing is what ever we read online we have to consult our ob/physician first!

This is the thing i've been most scared of....   i'm due in november though but still i dont know what to really do.

I'm gonna see how long I can go without the drugs. I'm pretty stubborn so I'm hoping to hold out for the whole thing, but if I need the drugs I'm taking them! Lol.

I watched a documentary about labor and delivery, and apparently because of the abnormally large size of the human brain/skull, and the woman's naturally narrow pelvis that forces the infant to move and contort to fit through the vagina, human labor is one of the most painful in the animal kingdom.

That scared the bajeesus out of me.

But then after I had my labor class and I learned that epidurals may actually inhibit the duration of labor and cause issues with a woman's ability to push, I was scared even more of the drugs.

It hurts, but damn I don't want to be in labor forever.

I got the epidural. I went into pre-term labor 9 weeks early, and after I got the epi, they had me push and every time I pushed, my daughters heart rate dropped dramatically, they rushed me for an emergency c-section. Not sure if it was the epi that cause it, or because I had so many issues with my pregnancy, but thank you for putting this out there, I wish I was more informed before I chose to get the epidural.

i am super glad you posted it. that's probably the most un-biased information i've been able to find so far on them, making research/planning difficult. my friends swear by them but still suffer from some of the consequences, most commonly back pain.. i have an aversion towards them not for those reasons but because i had to have a million and one spinal taps when i was younger and the last thing i want is a needle in or near my spine ever again . i definitely needed to know it's possible without one, because a lot of women seem dependent on them including friends and they tell (tell, not suggest) that i get one because they feel it's impossible without one, and even knowing me think i won't be able to handle it because they couldn't thanks for the post, it was encouraging towards my decision to avoid the epidural.

I had an epi with both of my kids and will have one again. I only had issues with my bladder being lazy the 1st time I had to use the bathroom after having my kids... all it took to fix was one cath and never had issues since... my kids never had any issues from the epidural either... I know all the risks and the benefits out weight the risks... also as far as issues with the baby, it is such a slim chance of happening that unless you have it for over 12 hours or more straight (according to all 3 drs I have had) the baby will be just fine...