pain relief

[adele88]

Im wondering about an epidural for pain relief in labour. I havent been to my antenatal classes yet as they dont start until a few weeks or so, but i was wondering can you ask for an epidural if you want for pain relief and if so how many cm would you get it roughly. I asked my midwife the same questions but she wasnt very helpful and says you will get the epidural if you need it. I thought you could request to have an epidural or do you need 2 be in so much pain before the give you one. . xx

 

[beth1234]

erm, you can have an epidural when you want (altho i think there is a certain cut off point, cos i begged for one and they said i was too far along, think i was about 9cm at the time)
No midwife can determine how much pain your in, so it doesnt go on how much pain your in.. well it does, but you decide not the midwife. If you feel you cannot take the pain anymore, its the midwifes duty to care for you. If you really want an epidural though id have one as soon as you get to hospital... just because if you get to the point where your in too much pain it may be hard for you to sit still through the procedure

xxxx

 

[Zazu]

I dont know when you can have it, think it depends on how much pain you're in. I wouldnt make the decision yet though, you might be fine without one. I was all for it before my antenatal classes and now after hearing the down sides i am more optimistic about doing it without one - although if i need one when it comes to it, i wont say no!

Try and get as much info as you can at ur antenatal, so you can make an informed decision. xxx

 

[scaredmum2be]

i no u cant have it after so long of being dialated as watched it on eastenders lmao lol but other than that ask for one early if u can get it if you really want one. i wanted to avoid the epi which i did i asked for diamorphine instead although they kept saying if i wanted to i cud of had an epidural i kept saying no dimorphine lol i soo didnt want an epi. hope you get to have it though if your thinking of having it x

 

[evie_smith]

They like you to be at least four cm dialated first so when your sat down it doesn't slow the labour process down and before 7cm that's what I was told when I had my other two I go my epidural at 3cm with zander coz he was back to back so they will access the situation when your there they are good if they get them in the right spot If not they
move them x

 

[adele88]

erm, you can have an epidural when you want (altho i think there is a certain cut off point, cos i begged for one and they said i was too far along, think i was about 9cm at the time)
No midwife can determine how much pain your in, so it doesnt go on how much pain your in.. well it does, but you decide not the midwife. If you feel you cannot take the pain anymore, its the midwifes duty to care for you. If you really want an epidural though id have one as soon as you get to hospital... just because if you get to the point where your in too much pain it may be hard for you to sit still through the procedure

xxxx

yeah i know what u mean im defo going for an epidural right away then im a big softy when it comes to pain lol

 

[adele88]

I dont know when you can have it, think it depends on how much pain you're in. I wouldnt make the decision yet though, you might be fine without one. I was all for it before my antenatal classes and now after hearing the down sides i am more optimistic about doing it without one - although if i need one when it comes to it, i wont say no!

Try and get as much info as you can at ur antenatal, so you can make an informed decision. xxx

thats exactly what the midwife says its just am really scared of feeling the baby come out i cant hack my period pain never mind labour pain yeah i will wait and see once i go to my antenatal classes to make a final decision.

 

[adele88]

is it true an epidural can paralyze you? I read it somewhere but wasnt sure what to think

 

[Zazu]

I imagine there are risks, but im sure they are very rare (they wouldnt be that common if it was a high risk), try not to scare yourself with horror stories! Just get all the info and take what you need at the time xxx

 

[titch]

its amazing how many horror storied you hear when youre pregnant eh?! Healthcare professionals are so worried about being sued they wont even give pregnant women antihistamines even though theyre fairly certain theres no risk, so if they thought there was an y kind of significant risk you could be permantently paralysed they just wouldnt offer epidurals.

I suppose it goes into your spine so there will always be a case somewhere you can find of something going wrong but dont worry yourself over it.

You do need to find the more real risks though, so you know what youre choosing, and once youve made your decision, dont let anyone change your mind, people can get seriously opinionated about these things, but everyones different and its YOUR labour and YOUR baby!

 

[adele88]

its amazing how many horror storied you hear when youre pregnant eh?! Healthcare professionals are so worried about being sued they wont even give pregnant women antihistamines even though theyre fairly certain theres no risk, so if they thought there was an y kind of significant risk you could be permantently paralysed they just wouldnt offer epidurals.

I suppose it goes into your spine so there will always be a case somewhere you can find of something going wrong but dont worry yourself over it.

You do need to find the more real risks though, so you know what youre choosing, and once youve made your decision, dont let anyone change your mind, people can get seriously opinionated about these things, but everyones different and its YOUR labour and YOUR baby!

yeah very true when i tell people im thinking of epidural people start telling me all these horror stories and putting me right off i have had my mind set from day one about an epidural and dont think i will change my mind or less worst comes to worst and i cannot get one for a specific reason but other than that i think i will defo be having one

 

[evie_smith]

There is a risk of paralisation you have to sign a consent form before hand where I go and they say basically DO NOT MOVE when the needle is in your back no matter what and you have to tell them when a pain is coming too