Epidural?

[HaYnSweetie]

So initially i wanted to get an epidural because i didnt want to feel too much pain lol, BUT after talking to my sister, a couple family members and a few of my co-workers im having second thoughts. I heard from every one of them that after they had their babies they felt no pain! Thats without the epidural. So now im debating on getting it. It'd be nice to push him out and then not feel any pain!

Any advice ladies?

[mom2ariana]

oh and like ashelen my epidural had worn off by the time i was pushing. it continued to wear off during labor but i had it boosted 3 times. they didn't wanna boost it during pushing so id be able to feel what i was doing, but by the end i was crying and begging for a boost. so they boosted it right as her head was coming and then of course it didn't take affect until she was out.
either way i still will be doing the epidural. why not get some relief even if its minimal? theres a reason God gave us the medical advancement for things like epidurals, i believe.

[Ashelen]

Rachel: actually there's a scientific explanation for what she meant about relief when pushing. If pushing were the most painful part, babies would never get born, LOL. So our bodies release a FLOOD of endorphins and "feel good" hormones when we push, and it actually numbs the pain and gives the mother a mini sense of euphoria. Women with epidurals experience it too. But it's an actual scientific fact that our bodies release a bunch of chemicals to make pushing feel like a relief and feel good so that we're eager to do it and get the baby out. :-)

[mom2ariana]

oh im not doubting it was a relief, just saying im sure it was still painful.
but idk about the euphoria even with an epidural. there was nothing feel good about my pushing lol. i never felt a rush of anything except joy when she came out. but pushing was a *****.

[Ashelen]

I agree Rachel that medical science exists in order to make things easier for us. The only reason I will go without an epidural is because I think that, for me finding labor not to be too overwhelmingly long or painful (i'm lucky in this respect, not all women are that lucky when it comes to time or pain tolerance), being able to get up and move and switch positions would be more beneficial than an epidural...HOWEVER...I do believe that pain relief during labor is important because a woman should enjoy her experience, no matter what birthing plan she has....so I think if you're afraid of the pain of labor, there's absolutely nothing wrong with an epidural...it DOES exist to make the experience more enjoyable and less painful, so if that's what you want by all means GET it....but for me it made such little difference that I Might as well have not gotten it and spared myself the stick in the back, haha. However with that being said...I'm still a big supporter of epidurals.

[mom2ariana]

yeah i have a very high pain tolerance as well and i still do not think pushing was at all the most painful thing ive ever experienced. i just got the epidural because i like the lazy & easy way out of things and tend to take it if i have the opportunity :P

[smjmekg]

I agree Ivy, I could have gone the whole labor and delivery without the epidural, and would have if I hadn't had such a long labor. 21 hours after only an hour nap in 36 hours...I only wanted the epidural to be able to sleep. I chose not to do IV meds because they made you sleepy, and even though I wanted the sleep I didn't want to be sleepy cause of meds and not be able to do what I needed to when the time came.