Epidural or not? And doula or not?

Question

Hey guys wanted to hear some of your input on getting an epidural or not during delivery from personal experiences. I'm torn between birth plans. Also what are you do onions regarding doulas? Thank you all ❤️

Answer

The epidural was my life saver! After I got it I visibly and mentally relaxed! Also I had to have an episeodomy and couldn't even imagine having one and being able to feel it. I strongly suggest it and I will be doing it again with this one if possible!

Answer

I have loved having an epidural with all five of my delivieries. Unfortunately at my delivery two weeks ago I was one of the few people that got an epidural headache due to missing the epidural cavity and hitting the spinal fluid. It was horrible!!! My headache hit within about six hours and I had to wait 36 hours for it to be treated with a blood patch. The treatment procedure was a little scary because they perform an epidural again and intentionally hit the spinal fluid. Then take 20cc of blood from your arm and inject it into the space to patch the two holes.

Answer

I didn't have a epi. I went natural, which isnt hard, the ring of fire hurts. But thats about it and as for a doula i loved having one it helps so much,  that i trained to become a doula my self :). But listen to your body if you wanna walk then walk if you want to be on the birthing ball then do that. The other thing i didnt like was puking.

Answer

Get a doula!!!! I had a long and difficult labor experience and I have no idea how I would have made it through without her. She was so great, not only for me, but for my husband too! HIGHLY recommend a doula!

Answer

I didn't get an epidural, I was open to the idea of having one if the pain got unbearable but ended up doing fine without it. To help with pain I did a lot of deep breathing and didn't want anyone talking to me but everyone is different. I recommend you take a childbirth class if you are thinking of not getting an epidural, I couldn't of done it without the information from the class. During labor I remember using a lot of the tips and techniques I learned during the class. Also one of the things that helped me with the "ring of fire" was having the nurse hold warm towels on my perineum, that was probably the worse part but also the shortest.

Answer

Epi didn't do much for me contractions where bare able just with nos but was worried about crowning so got epi it did nothing to the burning I felt except after I was bed bound and had a Catherdar lol did get a snip tho so was glad I had it to a point

Answer

I was induced so the epidural was a life saver for me. I went 25 hours without one, and the contractions were insane. Got my epidural, felt nothing, and went from barely dilated to pushing in 5 hours. I say just go with your body, you'll know. I wanted to have a natural labor so badly, but when I had to be induced that plan went away, so I decided to just ride it out and see what happened. As for doula, if your planning on having an unmedicated birth they are supposed to be very helpful, especially if you don't have a good labor coach. My husband attended natural birth classes with me and he was an excellent coach so we opted to not have a doula. But my best friend had a doula and swears by them.

Epidural or not? And doula or not?

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