Getting the Epidural?!?

[Batmama]

I'm 25 weeks along with my second child. The first pregnancy ended up being a c-section. They had messed up on my epidural and am very very scared to get it again. I've actually discussed with my doctor about not getting this time around. What do you all think about getting a epidural? Any advice on what you think I should do? Thank you.
Christine

[kennimae]

With my daughter I had pitocin and couldn't do anything I planned and ended up getting the epidural at 8 cm. This one I plan on holding off like I did last time.

[Toshagirl23]

I had the epidural with my son and I'm getting it again when my daughter is born

[baby2inthemaking]

I got one with my son and will be getting one with this baby. My son I got one because my body was stressed out and wouldn't allow me to dilate after getting it I went from a one to a ten in a hour!

[Jaidex]

Im one of those people that are dead against it for myself. I have many friends who used it and were fine, but for me i didnt get it for my first (water birth, and he was back to back instead of face to back) and wont with this one, women have been doing this for centuries and your body wouldnt give you more than it can handle, thats my personal opinion.

[Michele, Katy, TX]

I have had 8 babies and have had an epidural with some and not with others.  I personally like the epidural.  I get to relax and it has never stalled my labor.  Because I am able to relax, my babies come pretty quickly.  But it can (stall labor) so I recommend if you get one, to wait until you are about half way dialated at least.  And like others have said, it works for some and not as well for others.  Or sometimes it works for a while and then wears off.  That too has happened to me.  With my last baby (she's 3 months old), it wore off.  I had a 2nd degree tear and I felt every last stitch my doctor put in.  I would rather not have.  But I didn't tell him my epidural wasn't working either.  He probably would have put some numbing cream on or something.  

Anyway, it is a personal choice.  Many people love the epidural and have beautiful deliveries without incident.  My personal choice is to get it because I don't see any reason to be in pain if I don't have to be.  But again, that's just me.  If someone has had a bad experience, I don't blame them for having hesitation.

As for drugs like demerol, etc., they will only give that up to a certain point.  You may not even need anything up to that point.  So for me, it's pointless and I never get those.

Good luck with your decision and just keep an open mind.

[NicoleW09]

With my oldest they gave me stadol. It worked for about an hour. With my son my ob gave me fentanyl to try to calm my uterus as i was only 36w. It slowed contractions and I slept for about an hour. But when I woke up they started back up and I went from 4cm to 5cm. It was the best sleep I had had in a while though. You can always ask your ob about other forms of pain management if you don't want an epidural. The only risk is that some of it crossed the placenta and baby may be a bit sedated.

[Batmama]

Do you recommend any pain killers during labor?

[NicoleW09]

I have a high pain tolerance as well. With my first I got it bc I was scared and didn't know how badly pushing would hurt. With my second, I got it because I had pprom and they had to induce. The pitocin was absolutely horrible. Worst pain ever, labor in naturally was a cake walk compared to induction.

[Batmama]

Thank you. I defiantly feel as it being a personal choice and that I'm older and wiser that i should do what's right and that not get it.  have a high pain tolerance anyways so feel i need to embrace that real birth feeling lol.

[KatrinaShiri]

I didn't get an epidural. I worked in the hospital on the stroke floor and we always had young woman coming in who were either paralyzed from the waist down, or they were suffering major migraines. So I decided not to get one. My birth went just fine and it honestly didn't hurt!!

[NicoleW09]

I had an epidural with both of mine. If I had it to do all over again I wouldn't. After my youngest was born I lost all feeling (save for tingling and like bugs were crawling inside my legs) for two and a half months. They never could figure out what exactly happened. It appeared as though the epidural was placed correctly to they attributed it to nerve damage during delivery. It didn't work 100% with either of my deliveries so I wouldn't get it again. It does work for some people and definitely is a personal choice.