Epidural Stories
Women have all kinds of reasons for choosing an epidural - or for not choosing an epidural. Everyone is different, and ultimately you'll need to weigh the benefits and risks for yourself. But sometimes it can help to hear about other women's experiences when you're gathering information. Read on to hear epidural stories from women who have been there, done that.
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I never wanted an epidural because I felt that childbirth was something very natural that my body was more than capable of experiencing. I'm also the type of person to steer clear of Tylenol for a casual headache. If nature can take its course, let it.
ReplyDeleteMy first birth was a hospital birth. I wasn't laboring as quickly as the insurance company (er...hospital) thought I should so I was told to either go home (a 30 minute drive away) or stay and do things "their" way. I was inexperienced and didn't know better and was scared to be in the car having a baby so I opted to stay and do things their way. The hospital required speeding up the delivery by administering Pitocin at roughly 6x the typical amount when it is first administered (18mL vs 3mL according to the nurse administering it at the time). I wasn't informed that the Pitocin, especially so much of it right off the bat, would make labor contractions more painful. I just thought quicker. The pain was unbearable as I screamed and screamed and the nurses told me to essentially shut up because I was "disturbing the other mothers on the floor." I held out for as long as possible, but I finally succumbed to the next step required when not going all natural. The Epidural.
I was TERRIFIED of a big gigantic needle being stuck into my spine. What if the anesthesiologist made a mistake? Could I be paralyzed? When I asked these questions the anesthesiologist couldn't, with certainty, tell me that those things wouldn't happen. So much for reassurance. Fortunately I didn't feel a thing other than the cool, wet iodine being rubbed onto the skin on my back. The epidural took effect quickly and the other mothers in the maternity ward could have their peace back.
As a result of the epidural and the complete lack of feeling below my ribcage, I needed the assistance of a mirror being strategically placed down below so I could get a better idea of when and how hard to push. I was really lucky that I had no lasting side effects of the epidural, but I knew that if I were ever to have more kids I would never go through that experience again. Home birth was the other option to ensure my next birth experience was one that I wanted.
I labored roughly 22 hours with my second child. "They" say that subsequent labors are usually half as long as the first. If that's true, my first labor could have easily been 48 hours. I would have stayed home much longer had I known that at the time. I also found out that hospitals/insurance has a maximum amount of time that they'll allow a woman to labor in the hospital before they have to intervene or send the woman back home. This time ranges from 10-12 hours.
My second birth was so easy compared to the first. I didn't have any Pitocin speeding up or strengthening my contractions and my body was able to naturally adjust to the intensity as it happened on its own. I never even thought that the pain might be too much to bear. I admit, I did scream, but nobody told me to be quiet. I was able to do what I needed to do. It was the most amazing experience ever! I highly recommend a birth without intervention.
I can tell you that for Mary the transition from epidural for birth to keeping it in fora C-section went smoothly. The only wrinkle was that the aenestheselogist was not --in my opinion-- paying enough attention to Mary's having losing a b...it of sensation in her hands. For Annie, we had an aenetheseologist we called the Rastatheseologist. She had these huge long dreds and was, hands down, the best / nicest / most confidence inspiring person we dealt with during Mary's entire stay at the hospital. She gave it to me with the bark on for coming back into the hospital room when she was still putting the epidural in but I don't hold that against her.
ReplyDelete-LePaxton
epidurals. #1 totally scared of all needles. hate having my blood drawn the whole nine yards. and all in all knew i wanted a drug free birth. had from the beginning planned on having fin at the birth center with the whirlpools. then after reading "the thinking woman's guide" and a friend had major migraines after birth that the dr.'s attributed to the epidural - sure thing no. to manage pain i did bradley method meditation/relaxation. and the birth tub. and pelvic massage. with all this being said, i was present for the birth of my nephew. my sister was induced but already dilated well. when the oxytocin hit, of course she turned into psycho woman because no one told her and she didn't already know that the contractions come on so much more immediately thus epidurals are good ideas. and she got one. happy momma after that. the whole ptocin thing i think increases the need for epidurals. and i saw that with my sister's birth and of course rhett and i watched "the business of being born"!! :-) i never wanted to rush things. and luckily didn't need to. so no epidural. no drugs of any kind in fact.
ReplyDelete-Sarah
My husband and I took a twelve week Bradley Method prior to the birth of our first child. It really helped to have so much information going into it. We had also hired a doula to assist with the birth. We were committed to a drug free birth knowing that that is what the human body is designed to do, knowing that women around the world do it every day and especially after I had heard there was a chance the medicine could travel upwards as opposed to downwards, essentially cutting off your ability to feel yourself breathing.
ReplyDeleteWe went through both births without the aid of an epidural.
Krysta,
ReplyDeleteI actually can speak to both sides. My first two cuties I had without an epidural and the last big fella with an epidural. Here's my problem: my kids don't come out, won't come out, refuse to come out, until the MD's want to scan be daily for enough fluid come out. Ugh...so alas, all my kids were late and unfortunately all induced. This is not a great choice in my opinion, but at some point I am grateful for medicine, I mean I am employed IN medicine so I have to give it some props!
First two babies, loads of Pitocin, so much so that contractions every 1-2 minutes with HIGH peaks if you know what I mean, incredibly painful contractions and coming with such force and fury I can tell you it was TOUGH. Very tough, actually came to that "I have totally lost it" point with both deliveries. It didn't help that they were heavy medical deliveries with monitors, no getting out of bed, pee in the bedpan...yep try taking high peaked contractions every 1-2 minutes in your BED...its tough, no two ways about it! There is just no way to catch your breath.
So for my dear third baby, my husband had had enough and actually made me promise BEFORE agreeing to impregnate me that I would get an epidural for this baby. He just could not even go through the agony of watching his wife Pitocin labor without any drugs. So, I did want a sweet boy and agreed. There is NO doubt an epidural relieves you of pain. Mine was fine, actually anesthesia lost their pager that day and I Pitocin labored much longer than I would have liked even with that cutie pie! But mine was fine, insertion not too bad, no major side effects except for totally DEAD to the world lower extremities...like I cannot even physically lift my own leg with all my arm strength...I had no sensation. Chatted with the staff, pushed when they told me as I had no idea when, had literally 10 dear nursing students watch my delivery (I mean who else would allow that, but another nurse!), let a dear male nursing student insert a catheter while I was in labor which took at least 15 minutes (not fooling here...), and actually chatted while all 15 folks in the room watched the handy work of my MD to stitch my 3rd time of having of a 3rd degree episiotomy.
But at the end of the day, I have three beautiful, healthy children, nursed them all much over a year and that's all that really matters...
Though if I were to do it again...which I will not...I would have a nurse midwife (we did not have those here) at a birthing center (again none super close by...), and I would have a beautiful natural birth in a tub with warm water, it would probably be about 4 weeks after my due date...and there would be NO Pitocin to be found!!
Hope this helps!!
Susanne
For my first delivery, in 2005, I very much wanted to "go natural." I'd taken birthing classes and felt well prepared and was both excited and nervous. After my water broke, we headed to the hospital and waited. I did not dilate and was not progressing after about 12 hours, so went on pitocin. I was still not progressing and at about 18 hours we all agreed I should have an epidural so I could get some rest. We were hoping that once I was relaxed, I would progress. In the end, had gone 25 hours after my water broke and still never went past 3.5cm (midwife said she was being generous). Caroline's heart beat became irregular so we moved quickly into an emergency c-section. Healthy baby. Happy ending. Very slow recovery.
ReplyDeleteOn my next delivery, I was prepared for another c-section, but very much wanted to attempt a v-bac. I did plan to have an epidural. I went into the hospital on my due date thinking my water had broken. Felt just like the last time, but apparently, it hadn't broken. They'd already admitted me and there was room in the ER, so we agreed to a c-section and scheduled the surgical epidural.
Meanwhile, I started having back labor. Since they were waiting for my c-section about 6 hours later, I wasn't high on the priorty list. Back labor got worse but wasn't being picked up on the monitors. Even my husband thought I was being dramatic. I was in a lot of pain. They promised me the epidural was on its way. About 1 hours before the c-section, they checked me and I was 8.5cm. I was in severe pain in my back. (Admittedly, I have a very low pain tolerance) Finally I got the epidural and it was near instant relief. At that point it was only a half hour until the midwife told me I could push. It was a dream come true. I only pushed for about three sets and had a healthy baby. I'm a HUGE fan of the v-bac and only wish I'd had my epidural sooner.
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I labored 3 times, had 3 very different experiences, and had just one epidural. It's my feeling that even when you're educated, prepared, and in tune with your body, each birth experience is unique, and moms may need to adjust expectations and allow themselves, as cheerfully as possible and without guilt, to accept and go with the way things are unfolding. Even as active participants, we can't exercise complete control. An epidural or even a C-section may be the best way to care for yourself and/or your baby.
ReplyDeleteI had complications with my first pregnancy and needed to be induced at 37 weeks for my own health. My doctored warned me that my circumstances made a C-section more likely, and when I cried about that in his office, he assured me that any style of birth could be joyful and that he liked to sing at Caesarian births. Though I did find his words reassuring, I was disappointed and scared, as I believe childbirth should be a natural process, and I'd hoped to need very little medical intervention. My water was artificially ruptured; I wasn't able to move around much; I had Pitocin and constant monitoring. Even with the support of my husband and another dear friend, this was exhausting, and there came a point when I knew the epidural was much less frightening than enduring more contractions.
The anesthesiologist explained what would happen, and I signed consent papers for the epidural. I sat on the side of the bed with my husband in front of me and was told to round my back, leaning forward into a big hug from my husband. Having my husband hold and support me this way made it both physically and psychologically easier to hold still for the procedure. The epidural went in more easily than I would have suspected, and the pain was well controlled enough that I was able to cat nap. What a relief for me, and my husband and friend, too. By the time transition and pushing time came, though, I realized that the pain relief was either wearing off or didn't cover all the way down to the bottom of my pelvis, and I was caught off guard by the intensity of it. I asked to speak to the anesthesiologist about more pain relief, but somehow he never returned. It took my husband on one side and my friend on the other to keep me focused and going, but as the time for our son's birth drew near, I was thankful that I could feel my body's own rhythm for pushing and could ignore the nurse's counting. When he crowned, the burning from the tear to my perineum was a shock, followed by the slippery bumpiness of elbows and knees, and my warm baby being laid on my stomach. Thirteen years later I remember that crazy feeling with clarity and am glad for that experience.
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ReplyDeleteThe other feeling that was hard to forget was the tearing, to the extent that trying to have sex again after I was supposed to have recovered from birth brought me back to that moment in the hospital. It took 7 months and help from my doctor to quit having those flashbacks and to be able to have sex again. It probably took another couple of months more to be able to enjoy the sex, not just tolerate it. My difficult recovery process from the pain of childbirth really called into question my desire for natural childbirth, and I wondered what I’d want to do the next time I was ready to deliver.
Two and a half years later, I again had to be induced, this time at 42 weeks and without apparent complications. Again I was hoping for minimal intervention and upset that labor hadn't started on its own (or with any of the tricks I'd tried at home). This time my baby was too high to break my water safely, so I had Cytotec and took long walks through the hospital, and eventually they started Pitocin. My husband and I dragged the IV pole around the hospital, so I could stay active. I had no pain medication of any kind and didn't want any. But the contractions really weren’t that bad; I'd labored before and knew I wasn't to the hard part yet. So I remained active, tried new positions, used massage, and made no progress at all in terms of both dilation and the baby’s position after 15 or so hours. I was in a rural hospital where the number of people able to provide an epidural was limited, and the nursing staff seemed very active and involved in assisting with drug-free labor. More so than I remembered from my big city hospital experience in another state with my first baby. I was doing well, but eventually my baby became distressed, and the Pitocin was stopped, so she could be delivered by C-section. Once the drugs were stopped, my own body took over with contractions that were more intense than the drug induced ones, and I suspect I could have delivered her vaginally without too much trouble on my part, perhaps in another hour or so, if she hadn't been distressed by the contractions. When the surgeon delivered her, I heard him comment that her umbilical cord was badly deteriorated, and that a compromised blood supply was the likely cause of her distress, but she was going to be just fine now that she was out. I know God was watching out for our precious little Valentine, and I had such a sweet time bonding with her in the hospital during my extended stay.
Four years later and still hoping to experience natural childbirth but willing to accept any interventions that seemed necessary at the time, I planned for our third child to be delivered by VBAC in a city 75 miles away from our local, rural, hospital. My husband and I had an early morning doctor's appointment around 41 weeks and thought it best to go to town the night before, have a last date in the city, and spend the night in a hotel there. I had very mild contractions all that afternoon and evening, but we joked that since I was hungry for dinner, we'd better go to a restaurant instead of the hospital, and then see the dollar movie theater instead of seeing something at the full price theater. We knew it was much too early to be laboring at the hospital, but maybe this would be the night we’d been waiting for. I continued to have contractions every 6 to 8 minutes, but they were still so mild that they only required some hand holding and a few deep breaths.
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ReplyDeleteThen at 1:00 am, as I was wondering why we hadn’t been trying harder to get one last night of sleep, my water broke, and I knew immediately that the baby was coming very fast; we needed to get to the hospital right away, and there would be no time for an epidural, no need to make that decision, even if I thought I’d appreciate one. My watchless husband used his uncanny gift of time to tell me when each contraction was coming and would subside, while driving through the city, running several red lights. I told him he also needed to tell me when to breathe, because I couldn't concentrate well enough to remember how, because the contractions were so intense. I delivered my daughter just after 1:30, about 15 minutes after arriving at the hospital. I had time to ask for and receive a little vaginal lidocaine, so that I wouldn’t feel so much burning as my baby crowned. The doctor approved my pain relief choice, commenting that many women come in too close to delivery for an epidural to be effective, yet insist on trying to have one placed anyway. My pain was blunted but not removed by the local anesthesia (I didn’t feel those little elbows and knees this time), and my tearing was minimal, and the recovery smooth.
I was so thankful to have had a birth virtually free of hospital procedures, to have labored almost without being aware of it, and to know this time not to push so hard when the burning starts. But I'm also so thankful we made it to the hospital on time. My daughter's cord was wrapped around her neck so tightly that it had to be cut before she was fully delivered, and the NICU was called to give her oxygen. She pinked up and was fine, and the doctor told me I'd done great.
I am grateful for my body's ability to give life and believe in encouraging the natural process of birth, but I also know that we aren't living in a perfect world, and I'm grateful to the doctors that likely saved some or all of my children from harm and who helped me manage the pain of labor and delivery.
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First child was my daughter and I had an Epidural. The anesthesiologist had to come back and stay during my delivery because the epidural was not working properly (had to up the dosage). This was a private hospital and I received excellent care. My second child was my son and he was born in a military hospital. This was a scary and awful experience. First I asked the anesthesiologist to perform my epidural because I did not want someone practicing on me and he agreed to this and I also advised him that with my first child the epidural wore off quickly. Well they sent someone in to practice on me and he sent tingles down my legs and the pain was awful. While in labor they decided to do an emergency C-Section and asked if I could roll over onto my hands and knees. Performed this with no problems which should have been their first clue that my epidural was not effective. Was rolled to the ER in this position. After I was strapped down and the procedure was starting, I informed them that I could feel everything that they were doing. Was told that I was just being nervous and that was impossible. I then described to them what they were doing. Began crying and then throwing up and choking because I could not roll over. Doc started yelling at the anesthesiologist and said shoot it in. After my son was born and I was cleaned up and thouroughly checked out I was rolled to my room. Nurse told me that once the corpsman gets there to move me into my bed, they would bring my son to me. Well I sat up and got off the gurney and walked over and climbed into my bed and told her to bring me my son. The nurse's eyes were as big as saucers as she asked me how could I walk with an epidural and I advised her that it wore off a long time ago when they were operating. I told her that I informed the anesthesiologist that pain blockers do not work well on me. That even when I go to the dentist they joke and say they give me enough to numb an elephant. Epidurals work better for some than others. If I were to have another child (I am done), I would make sure it was in a regular hospital and I would have an epidural. Making sure they fully understand that the anesthesiologist can not go to far!
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