Today's "Daily Mail", "Epidural made me paral

[MissThing]

OMG! Can it really happen??? There is an article, about one woman, who had epidural, and, becourse it triggered some sort of thing in her spine, after a few hours of giving birth, she became paralysed!! Took her five years to get back to normal!

Girls, I am so scared! Getting closer to EDD I am thinking more and more about pain relief!I wanted to have an epidural...But now I am a bit confused...and scared...I just really don' t know what to do? Is it the same with somebody else (getting confused about birth choise)? Even if there is a 1 in 1 000 000 possibility, is it worth the risk? Or, maybe is it better to try to cope with pain (even if it will drive me mad)?

Hope I didn' t scared anybody too much...Just I really need some advise!

 

[LinsG]

Unfortunately yes this can happen. Its rare though i think. My mum worked in a maternity hospital for years and never heard of anyone being paralysed.

I would've thought that the midwives should let people know the risks involved!!

 

[leckershell]

I heard off a friend of mine earlier that her friend had an epidural and because the spinal fluid leaked into her brain, her brain sagged..

Apparently she's ok, but that's really not good. I can imagine that'd cause some sort of problems when she's older.

 

[Nicola]

There is a small chance of permanant paralysing with an epidural.
It's the reason I'm not having it, what's an hour or two's worth of pain relief to end up disabled with a newborn baby to look after. They try to give the epidural to wear off before the pushing stage starts anyway so it's just the contractions it helps with. Thousands of woman have done it, so can I. No chance are they giving me an epidural, the small risk isn't worth it in my opinion. There are other associated side effects of it too, just not chancing it.

 

[xjdx]

worse thing i ever did was have an epidural i suffer with back ache now, more than i did when i was pg wit taylor, if i ever have another baby i will not be having one!

 

[Snuggle]

My mum has had no end of pain in her back ever since having an epidural, its the reason I dont want one

 

[trixipaws]

i couldnt hav had one as i had a home birth but it wouldve been VERY VERY tempting if i'd been in hosp, coz labour really really hurts! but it doesnt last long and an advantage of being able to feel the pain is that u wont push too hard and likely not to tear as badly (and u can move around). GIRLS U CAN DO IT! (i did and i'm a wuss hehe!) good luck 2 u all i'm sure youll b fine

 

[Dinski]

I had an epidural and it was a godsend. Took the pain away straight away and the rest of labour was pain free. They gave me these special socks to wear in bed afterwards for the night so that my circulation would not be affected by the epidural. In the morning I could move my legs and feet fine.

I think the chances of anything going wrong are minimal. You are far more likely to be paralysed crossing the road and being run over by a car.

 

[MissThing]

Thank you all for responding! I think I have made up my mind

 

[puppylove]

Hi my cousin had a wee boy on the 8th this month she had been in and out of labour for 3-4 days had epidural and had really bad side effects afterwards now thankfully she is doing well.

puppy

 

[NooNoo]

yea i know a few people who have had bad after effects..i will NOT be chancing it thank you very much

I know its a personal choice but in my opinion so so not worth it

 

[Sabrina]

The severe side effects mentioned by the press are extremely rare. Unfortunately they don't concentrate on the positives as it doesn't make such a good story.

I had an epidural with my first son and it was amazing. It allowed me to be awake during a C-section and see him seconds after being born. I suffered no side effects or headaches after the operation and was up and about the next morning.

When you are in hospital, or almost at term, you can ask to speak to the anaethesist to get a real view of the risks. Just about every medical procedure, from drawing blood to taking your BP carries some risk, it's just important to put these into perspective.

 

[NooNoo]

The severe side effects mentioned by the press are extremely rare. Unfortunately they don't concentrate on the positives as it doesn't make such a good story.

I had an epidural with my first son and it was amazing. It allowed me to be awake during a C-section and see him seconds after being born. I suffered no side effects or headaches after the operation and was up and about the next morning.

When you are in hospital, or almost at term, you can ask to speak to the anaethesist to get a real view of the risks. Just about every medical procedure, from drawing blood to taking your BP carries some risk, it's just important to put these into perspective.

I agree with you that everything you do carries a risk, like i say it really is a personal choice

 

[kellie80]

I had an epidural with my 1st, it worked brilliantly and I never had no problems. with the other 2 births I didn't get one and although the epidural did its job I much prefered birth without one. My cousin had an epidural and she had some problems and ended up laying flat on her back and not allowed to move even to feed baby for 4 days and she still has back pain now.

 

[Keely]

oooooooohhhhhhhh I am scared now!! I really did want one and i knew the risks but this thread has got me thinking! (what if i am the one it goes wrong for)

But i cant do labour again!!!!!!!!!! i really really cant!!!!

 

[beanie]

I had read the horror stories and was determined not to have one but after a really long and slow labour, two nights without sleep and pure exhaustion I had one. My OH had to talk me into it, and I was near hysterical when I had it but Seren was in distress and I needed to sleep. Yes there are risks but the number of people who have one with no problems far outweigh the ones who have had problems. Talk about your fears with your midwife but keep an open mind about pain relief and your birth plan as sometimes they don't go as you want them to.

This time I am having a home birth so won't be able to have an epidural if all goes well but if at anytime I feel the need to have one I would.

 

[budge]

OMG! Can it really happen??? There is an article, about one woman, who had epidural, and, becourse it triggered some sort of thing in her spine, after a few hours of giving birth, she became paralysed!! Took her five years to get back to normal!

Girls, I am so scared! Getting closer to EDD I am thinking more and more about pain relief!I wanted to have an epidural...But now I am a bit confused...and scared...I just really don' t know what to do? Is it the same with somebody else (getting confused about birth choise)? Even if there is a 1 in 1 000 000 possibility, is it worth the risk? Or, maybe is it better to try to cope with pain (even if it will drive me mad)?

Hope I didn' t scared anybody too much...Just I really need some advise!

i think its very rare to have anything like that happen.
But personally id never take the chance. it has to happen to someone eh. scary

 

[MissThing]

Thank you all fr your answers. Stories like this really makes you think...