Epidural???

Question

Okay ladies, I'm 23 weeks pregnant and I've been debating on whether or not I want to get the epidural when it comes time to give birth. I have scoliosis and already struggle with back pain prior to pregnancy. My biggest concern is that getting the epidural will further complicate my back pain postpartum. I've heard stories of women never having back pain until after receiving the epidural. My mom told me that she never got the epidural and that really child birth isnt as painful as people make it seem. She said the most painful part is when your hips are separating to be ready to pass the baby. She also told me that many people will try to 'scare me' into getting the epidural. She said that the best thing for me to do is get experience stories from other women, so here I am lol. Please give me your experience stories of getting or not getting the epidural. Thanks!!

Answer

Okay, sorry but I need to be honest here. Childbirth hurts like ****. Your mom probably blocked that part out of her memory. Nonetheless I've had 2 natural births and I will have my 3rd in August. I do not want to risk any complications connected to pain medicine, also I want to be alert during one of the most amazing phases in life. I'm your case I'd totally understand if you didn't want an epidural. I can recommend a birthing pool to help with the pain, it also lowers your chance of tearing.

Answer

The only thing I can really recommend is go into labor with an open mind. Have a game plan in mind, but don't worry if it doesn't work out exactly like you thought. Labor hurts really bad but plenty of women don't get an epidural. Read about birthing techniques and have someone by your side that completely supports your choices. 
I know a lot of women that got the epidural to allow the bodies to relax enough to dilate, because they were too stressed and couldn't progress on their own. 
There is no right way to give birth! Do what will make you comfortable.

Answer

Ended up having to have 2 epidurals during my daughters birth because the first one just flat didn’t work (probably because I was dilated to an 8.5 already, but I had no pain at all until that point 🤷🏼‍♀️) 
Second one worked for my back pain,
I gave birth 45 minutes after I had it done and I felt pretty much everything and was able to get up and use the restroom immediately after. 
Long story short, this was 18 months ago and I still have severe back pain in the vertebrae where they inserted my epidural. My plan this birth is to go all natural, I truly think anyone is capable if you set your mind to it.

Answer

I had planned an all natural home/water birth with my daughter, but ended up in the hospital due to low blood platelets. Every nurse that saw me, and my doctor, SEVERAL TIMES tried talked me into getting an epidural. "Oh you should really get it now before it's too late and you cant" "I wouldn't even try this at your age without an epidural" "oh you'll decide you want one when the pain hits" I heard it all. I even had the doctor at one point tell me i would have a higher risk of needing an emergency c section if i didn't get it, which is TOTAL BULLSHIT. Luckily the midwives I'd hired for the homebirth stayed with me in the hospital (even though they couldnt treat me anymore) and they handled a lot of what people tried to throw at me, I really only got personally berated when they weren't around. I also had one of the nurses ask me if my midwives were pushing me against the epidural and making the choice for me. It was ridiculous. I knew what I wanted and I literally had to fight tooth and nail to get it (or not, as the case was). 
I dont remember the pain, I remember laboring in a pool that had color changing lights that made the water light up. I'd focus on the colors when contractions would hit. I felt like I was in the pool for 10 minutes, but the reality is that I was in there for 5+ hours. I remember having to get out of the pool (hospital wouldn't let me deliver in it) and getting on a birthing stool. I remember reaching down and feeling my daughters head/hair when she was crowning and then catching her myself after 3 or 4 pushes. I didn't rip or tear anywhere, no need for stitches and the healing process was decent. 
One of the things that always infuriates me about epidurals is that doctors dont tell you the epidural will stop contractions, then they give you pitocin to start the contractions again but also wont tell you that the mixture of the epidural and pitocin in your system will cause the baby's heart rate to drop, and then its "oh no we have to do an emergency c section". *c sections cost almost 3× what a vaginal birth does in most places, and is also done in a fraction of the time, meaning doctors get more money for less time and work, and the mom gets (most of the time) unnecessarily cut open in order to do it. I would highly recommend watching the documentary The Business Of Being Born. 
I am plannig a birth center water birth for my second (I'm 11wks), mostly because I rent and I dont want to deal with asking my landlords about having a baby here. Also my birth centers tubs are absolutely amazing 😍😍 I'm hoping my blood platelets stay up high enough I can avoid the hospital all together with this one, but regardless I definitely wont be getting an epidural.

Answer

Hey! My birth plan was a happy, healthy baby and mama. I wanted to do all natural, but I wanted to leave my options open. I didn't want to feel bad if I felt like I needed it when the time came. I had been having contractions for days and it was making it very hard to sleep. By the time I finally went into real labor and was in the hospital, I was ready just for some sleep. I decided to do the epidural. I also have scoliosis, the last time I was checked out it was a 30 degree curve, so pretty significant. I had 0 problems getting the epidural or anything, BUT it only numbed half of me, it made the other half much more intense. By the time my girl came I could feel basically everything. I was also on pitocin which made the contractions more intense. I'm pregnant with number 2 now and I'm not planning on doing the epidural this time because I feel it was just a waste. I really believe my curve had something to do with it. 
Once that baby finally comes out, the intense pain goes away immediately, you forget everything you just felt and it is a beautiful moment. 
Just know that the nurses are there to help you. If you decide you definitely don't want it, tell them that you don't want it and that you do not want to be asked. It will be harder and harder to refuse. 
Let me know if you have any questions or need clarification on what I said. I often get scatter brained and sometimes I don't make sense 😂 good luck!

Answer

I also have Scoliosis and had an epidural with my first. For about 3 years after my face, limbs, etc would go completely numb and stay that way for hours or days. Doctors response “just a side effect from the epidural. It’ll go away”. 
My second son, no epidural. 
Baby girl coming in November, epidural isn’t even an option for me! I had such a bad experience with the first that I’d rather do another all natural birth!

Answer

As your DR what the best option is & then weigh your decision out that way.

Answer

I watched a really great doc recently called The Business of Being Born. Was very empowering and gave me a lot of insight 💜

Answer

Honestly the contractions are what caused me to get the epidural, but I have been induced twice and with my first labored for 26hrs. I needed a break from the pain of contractions so my body could actually prepare for pushing. I had the best of intentions to go drug free for both births but the epidural helped me tremendously.

Answer

The likelihood of having back issues from a epidural is slim to none. Pregnancy causes back issues, not epidurals. I had one and it was great. My water broke at 40w exactly, contractions never started so I was augmented with pitocin. I started at half a cm and it took me 7 hrs to get to 3. Got the epidural and I was 10cm one hour later and labored down and pushed for 30 min. I basically slept, changed positions often, then had my baby.

Epidural???

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