I had an epidural with 2 of 3 pregnancies. Unfortunately my labor was so short that it didn't work with the first birth. The second time we knew to request it earlier and it worked great.

Maybe things have changed but I didn't have the epidural during the entire labor - only when it appeared that I had progressed far enough and delivery wasn't far away.

I don't understand the question. Are you saying your hospital doesn't offer epis? What are they currently using for laboring women who need pain management or C sections?

I never had one because I personally think natural is the best way do go unless it's an extreme case. Never understood the point of it being so late in the game just before the best part...the delivery.

Your little hospital doesn't currently offer epidurals to laboring women? where is this?

ML

Very odd message....how do you just open up "Epidurals Are Us " business????

Hmmm. Maybe she doesn't mean "epidurals," though I can't think what she means instead. Pedicurals? Manicurals? I've never had an epi, but I'm pretty sure they're administered by MDs. I mean, they're administered to the spine, right?

DIL had one six years ago. Couldn't tell when to push, and it was a prolonged labor. (Our DGS's *head* was in the 99th percentile, and this was a first pregnancy.) Her delivery of DGD a month ago was only four hours -- fast and hard.

Just how 'little' IS your hospital? Are you an anesthesiologist?

She is a highly skilled health care professional, and is just seeking anecdotal information. I'm sure she has given her business concept a lot of thought.

I've never had one though, so I can't help.

Never understood the point of it being so late in the game just before the best part...the delivery.

I agree. I wish somebody would invent a safe pain blocker that works during the worst of labor and then evaporates so the mother can enjoy (yes, I said enjoy) the full experience of giving birth.

Thanks, Susan! Didn't know I would be open to ridicule by asking for your experiences. I am not going to say where I work, but it is a small 25 bed hospital. No, I am not an anesthesiologist but I am a nurse anesthestist. Right now we do spinals for c-sections and intrathecals for labor pain relief.

Shermann, your unfortunate lack of knowledge in regards to the delivery of anesthesia is quite common. If you want a manicural, I suggest you go to spa. Or maybe just google nurse anesthesia, you might learn something.

I didn't want to get into the whole explanation of epidural vs. spinal because it encompasses a lot. I really just wanted to get the opinions of those that have had an epidural to find out their experiences. For instance, were they satisfied and would they do it again. So if you don't have anything to say about that, please SOB.

In 1980, I had one when I had my C-section. It was a planned C-section but I would have had to have one anyway cause my son was breech and he was also bigger than expected. Anyway, it was "patchy" and I could feel some pain but it was fleeting. However, they did put me out for sewing me up since there was pain present.

Sleeperblues, I absolutely wasn't ridiculing you! I know what you do for a living, and understood your original post. I probably shouldn't have responded because I've never had an epidural. But when I read Wildchild's post it struck a chord because this is something I've thought of often over the years.

I didn't have one. When I had my daughter (in a military hospital, 20 years ago), they reserved epidurals for c-sections. I got nothing for pain. NOTHING. Not even a Tylenol. :/

I've never had an epidural either. I never understood the benefit to them. I guess most of us are not the people you want responding if we haven't had the experience!

But I did want to mention... Do you or have you thought of using doulas? I would think doulas would be very beneficial and work well in a hospital of your size.

Alisande (Susan), I'm sorry I didn't mean that at all. I was thanking Susan On for saying I was a highly skilled professional. I felt I was being ridiculed by Sherm and Gemini, not by you. Sorry if my post was misconstrued. I think you are a great lady, and have often wished we lived near each other because we think a lot alike in many ways.

It seems at times that pain relief is not administered until almost the end of the labor/delivery process, but many times what actually happens is that after pain relief is administered the mother relaxes and the relaxation allows the birth to progress at a much quicker pace.

Carla, we don't have doulas anywhere around here that I know of. Women want pain relief, they don't want to experience the natural birth process anymore (at least around here). But if I had it to do over again, I would have a doula or midwife with a home delivery in my big bathtub.

Thank you! I feel better now. (Really!)

PS: In responding the first time, I did what I often think KT members should stop doing: jumping in to say we've had no experience with (or don't like) something that the OP asked for feedback on. I'll shut up now. :-)

Chloecat, I had my son, 19 years ago in a military hospital and got an epidural. It took the pain away but then I couldn't push, so had a c-section. Not sure if it would have mattered because he was a huge baby, 9 lbs 5 oz.

My daughter was born in the hills of KY and I got another epidural. It was awful, tried to have a VBACS and it didn't work. The doctor who did the epidural screwed up and it wore off, I laid in excruciating pain for hours while he fumbled around, made a bunch of phone calls, poked his head into the room for the tenth time to ask me my pre-pregnancy weight. Finally, he readjusted the needle in my back after squirting betadine all over my back and onto the ex (who almost passed out after that by-the-way). Then in the OR when they finally went to do a c-section, I couldn't breath or swallow. I thought he had killed me. Especially, since right after that happened a nurse popped her head into the OR room to ask me what my religious preference was. ( :

LOL, Kathy! He sounds like the physician I had for my middle son!!!

I had an epidural. After 16 hours of labor, I had a C section. Kid had a FAT head! lol he still does!

I had the "window" also. right where they started cutting!
I started my breathing exercises, and the doc wanted to know what was wrong. I told him it hurt! lol He yelled at me for not saying anything, I told him I just wanted to get it over with! lol So the Anesthisiologist put something in my iv... i felt NO pain after that! lol
I don't know if I would have done it "naturally" with another birth, because I would have probably had another C section and would definitly want something for that!

I had epidurals for all three.....a long time ago. Worked very well but with each pregnancy there were areas where I could feel the labor pains....still a lot better than feeling it all over.
I worked in labor and delivery for a while in my nursing career and I feel all of the patients receiving epidurals did very well
My DDIL had an epidural in NYC and again for the second pregnancy in Tokyo.....she was happy with both.
Thank you for thinking of offering this service in your area.

I had epidurals with both of my children who are now 20 and 18. My first one was my son and I ended up having a C-section after many hours because things just were not progressing. He weighed 7 lbs. My second, my daughter, I had a VBAC with an epidural and they turned it down when it was time to push, no problems with her and she was delivered in four hours - weighing in at 9 lbs 9 oz. I requested the same anesthesiologist the second time around because he did a great job. If I had to do it again, I would definitely get an epidural again.

Lol... at Kat!

I live in a smallish community with a very small hospital and just recently they started giving epidurals.
Come to think of it, I don't think they do give epidurals. lol My neice had her baby there in '09 and I was shocked that she went to a hospital that didn't do them. I'll have to ask to find out for sure, but it is not unusual for small hospitals to not offer them.

However, I had my baby in a city hospital and had an epidural (c-section) HIGHLY recommend! I watched my labour pains on a monitor that looked like a richter scale. DH would say "WOW, look at that one!!" While I was chatting with my Mom, and I'd say "Oh ya?" lol

My ob/gyn said that when men can have babies he want's his epidural administered in the parking lot! lol

BJ

When I had my DD I was really too late for an epidural, but they hadn't checked me ( I went from a 2 to a 10 quickly) and I was almost fully dilated. I ended up with a epidural anyhow and then I couldn't push and they had to use forceps... so really it was not a good delivery. DD's heart rate was really low when she was born.

I had a very long labor (20+ hours). If I had been checked more frequently, things would have been better and I could have had the epidural earlier. Things turned out fine thankfully despite the screwups..

I am pretty sure I had one 34 years ago and I was really pleased with it after previously having 3 and being out from having ether. I was also present 3 weeks ago when Amber gave birth to baby Alyssa and she was really glad to get the epidural. It did not stop her from pushing when a contraction came. Push and count ten, take a breath and count some more. Being this was her first baby the doctor and nurse were very pleased she delivered in 40 minutes. No pain for all of that, plenty of pain before it.

Sue

I know that it is extremely rare, but deaths do happen with the use of an epidural. The sister of a friend died after giving birth to twins. Apparently a blood vessel was punctured in the procedure. I never heard all the details on this and I am sure that there is more to the story, but the case did result in a lawsuit against the hospital and the person that performed the procedure. It was settled out of court.

Sorry if I hurt your feelings. Perhaps if you better explained your background your comments would not have be open to ridicule as you stated.
It sounded like you were just sitting around and all of a sudden decided to go into the epidural business.
We know that is a procedure performed by trained anesthesiologist.
I had several BTW and thought it was very helpful.
I sincerely apologize.

No problem, Gemini. You are right, I should have given more information. I guess I just assumed that everyone "knew" me and that is not the case. But CRNAs (nurse anesthetists) also perform epidurals and can by law do everything an anesthesiologist does.

I also want to clarify that I don't have any financial incentive for starting this service, as I am a hospital employee and don't bill fee-for-service.

Gazania, you are right that there are risks, including death, with an epidural. Paralysis is most concerning to me, as death is extremely rare and usually only occurs as a result of a grave error. Within the last couple of years a 16 year old died in Madison of a wrong medication injected into her epidural by an OB nurse.

Gee, several of you have kids older than my DS and you got epidurals. Lucky you. The hospital I delivered in in 1976 only offered cervical blocks which don't really do any good. I was at a Kaiser hospital and they told all OB patients to be sure and take Lamaze classes. I was very glad I at least had the Lamaze instruction to distract me.

I didn't, but my DD Kalie did when she delivered Jackson 6 months ago. She was afraid of the pain, and had talked to the Dr. on her first appt about having an epidural and when and how...the whole works. I personally think you miss out in some of the excitement of it....but each their own.

She got to the hospital at 6pm, and they started the epidural at about 8. (she had been in easy labor for about 6 hrs before she came in) She was able to relax and rest some, she is one that needs her sleep and I know that all the adrenalin after giving birth in the middle of the night, you don't sleep. She gave birth at 1:35am. About midnight baby started showing some stress, but Kalie was only about 5 dilated.....long story short, they were able to up her Pitocin to get her labor going more to get the baby out quicker. The Dr. was wonderful on this...scared me, but he kept me up to speed on all that was going on. When Jackson came through, Kalie was just starting to feel some. Jack had the cord wrapped around his neck...as she did when she was born! She was joking and talking to us all during the whole delivery! I was amazed!!!

After seeing Kalie go through her labor and delivery...it looked like a piece of cake! LOL She said that if it was that easy each time, she would have a whole crew! Dr. told her that it didn't always go as smooth as hers did.

The anesthesiologist was amazing! He was talking to Kalie and I the whole time he was doing his job. What he was doing, what it did..so on. He was probably 45ish and said that he has done so many that he couldn't count them! Of course he did explain about all the bad things that could happen, but VERY rarely did. This was in a big hospital in Des Moines.

I had an epidural when my son was born in 2002. Getting the epidural started was very painful but after that it was great and I could still feel contractions coming on. The epi was "up" too high at first and my shoulders and arms were getting numb, so the anesthes. decreased it and I was fine except for having to vomit a lot (sorry, TMI :) ).

I'm glad I had it since DS was stuck behind my pelvic bone and I eventually had a C-section to get him out....doc told me it was due to my age (41) and less-flexible bones and cartilage. My anesthesiologist was wonderful. When DS was born and brought around to be shown to me, the nurses took my husband and the baby away to another room. I was crying quiet tears of joy and relief and the tears were running down the sides of my head as I lay on my back being sewn up from the C-section. The anesthesiologist didn't say a word or try to comfort me, he respected my privacy and simply took some tissues and gently and quietly wiped away my tears. I get a bit teary now thinking of it! What a joyful time!

With both my deliveries I got a local and the doctor cut my perimeum. Not terrible, but the lealing process afterwards was uncomfortable.