To Epi or not to Epi? That is the question…
A friend of mine is pregnant with her third child. Recently she posed the following question on Faceboook:
Moms: I’ve been reading up on epi’s because I’m really considering getting one this time around. I’m horrified at a lot of the stories of permanent side effects and I’m starting to quiver at the thought that ‘au naturale’ may be the best way to go again. I was just hoping to enjoy this birth a little. What was your epi experience like?
The amount of response she received told me that this is a hot topic with veteran moms and moms-to-be alike. With my first baby, I had an epidural – and thank gawd! I had been labouring for over 8 hours and really and truly needed a break from the pain. Once I had the epi, I felt like I could relax and “enjoy” (I use the term loosely here!) the experience. However, the epidural did slow things down and actually REVERSED my dilation. Imagine my disappointment when my midwife told me that I had gone from 6 cm to 4.5 cm…she may as well have told me that the baby was NEVER coming out!! I was so discouraged! In the end, I am glad I had the epi, though. If I hadn’t I think I would have been so exhausted and may have ended up having to have a c-section.
With my second child’s birth, labour was fast and manageable…I was able to use nitrous oxide (AMAZING stuff, which actually did nothing for the me the first time around) to offset the pain. My son’s labour was 4 hours from start to finish – where with my daughter I pushed for 2 hours, I pushed for 2 minutes with my son. I am very grateful to have had both experiences and know how lucky I am to have had two births without any complications or negative after effects.
I would say, unless you are completely opposed to drugs during birth (more power to you!!) keep the epidural as an option and decide once you see how your labour goes! For my friend, it’s her third so the baby should just slide out – right?! Birth is not predictable and we just have no way of knowing how it is going to go!
This is a very individual decision and probably one of the first ones that we, as mothers, feel conflicted about. I wonder if this is due to our actual expectations around our child’s birth or if it is how we think we will be perceived if we opt in (or out) of using drugs to manage labour.
What are your thoughts and experiences around epidurals?
Two children…two very different experiences. But I, ultimately, decided how they came into the world.
Epidural is such a personal choice. I did not have it, only because I was more scarred of the epidural then the pain. I had the same experience with the nitrous oxide. For baby #2 it was amazing stuff and worked much better then the first time.
Excellent article! I am not yet a mother but there have been many complications in child birth in my family that has made me really consider “is having a baby worth the risk?” My mother bled out, my aunt has a permanent cerebral spinal fluid leak due to the puncture of the epi. But I don’t know if I could handle labour without an epi (low pain tollerance). I think mother’s need to keep all their options available until the time comes and only they can know how comfortable they are.
two boys both epidurals THANK GOD I would have died both 14 hr labors, but my EVIL midwives let my epi wear off right when my youngest was crowning. Needless to say, since they really didn’t want me to do it in the first place, they got cursed out of the room from that point on and I refused any of their after care. I don’t like having my birth process high jacked by other people. It is completely up to the woman and everyone should be accepting of each others choices. We’re all moms we just gotta know we will all do things differently. I hate when things like this divide us into nothing but fits of judgement for one another. Any choice is a good choice.
Eschelle, my midwife experience was totally different. They were very open to me having (or not having) pain medication. I was informed about the pros and cons of each choice. When it came down to it, it was actually my midwife who suggested (with my first) that I should consider the epi as I was getting really exhausted. I agree, nobody should try to hijack the experience…on the Midwifery BC website it states (in reference to pain management);
“Midwives offer a range of natural and pharmaceutical pain relief options, including access to epidurals. It is paramount in midwifery care that women have access to the information necessary to make informed decisions about the use of pain relief options. These options are discussed during prenatal visits as well as during prenatal classes should you choose to attend classes in your community.”
It’s too bad that your midwifes were not supportive of your decisions and needs. Good thing you were able to advocate for yourself!
I was always “open to it”. And I’ve had two labours – first one with the epidural, second without. The first time, baby was induced early due to my hypertension and I was told I didn’t have an option for the epidural – it reduces your blood pressure (or manages it…..). I was such a mess with that labour (pushed for 70 minutes – total of only 4 hours labour from first 1-min-apart contractions to birth) that I would have done/taken anything they told me to. With my second, I had no hypertension and she came naturally (no induction). Labour was less than 3 hours and contractions were 5 minutes apart at the start (like they should be!!). I only pushed for 10 minutes. I didn’t even use the gas, since it made me vomit the first time around and I was managing very nicely, thankyouverymuch.
I think it’s smart to be open to it and not be militant about “no drugs”. I have a girlfriend who suffered with her epidural – can’t remember waht it’s called but yes, she was in the hospital for a week following complications from the epi, and suffered debilitating headaches for months. I still would advise women to be open to it.
I had a 42 hour labour with my first. After having contractions for 32 hours, I was finally admitted to the hospital (finally 5 cms), and the first word out of my mouth was “Epidural!!” So glad I did because I was able to have some rest, and the baby came 10 hours later which seemed fast compared to the first 32!
I also opted for epidural for my second, which was a 6 hour labour. I’ve never actually heard of someone having complications from an epidural. I had great experiences with both labours, partly because of the epidurals, I think.
I had a great experience with a home birth (no epidural obviously). After giving birth I was totally fine, able to move around and thought it was very sweet that the midwives basically tucked us all into our bed/bassinette before leaving. Glad I didn’t go to the hospital and wouldn’t change a thing. My personal view is that pain is only temporary, and I viewed childbirth and labour the same way I view any athletic endeavour. Kind of like doing the Grouse Grind (for 12 hours), ha!
With my first, I did all the research and decided I would be okay with it if I really needed it. My main concern was it contributing to interventions like a c-section, forceps, episiotomy etc. What I found is that on average, the risk is not increased once you are beyond 5cm. I was WELL beyond that when I got my epi thanks to a bit of a mishap with my induction (which also contributes to those adverse events). Given that I was on a max dose of pit (32) I was VERY VERY happy to have the option of an EPI, but that said I really think it contributed to my interventions – I got the full meal deal: forceps, vacuum and episiotomy and was *that* close to a c-section (they had everyone in the room to wheel me away).
This time, I am hoping to avoid induction and hopefully have it properly done this time (they ‘forgot’ to break my waters before upping me to a new higher dose even though I was not responding to the pit without my water being broken). If I can stay away from the pit, I am hopeful I can stay away from the epi. In the end, I could not feel ANY of my contractions even with a walking epidural and had to rely on a nurse to tell me when to push for 2.5 hours. That is not working with your body.. :/
All this said, I think this is SUCH a personal decision and I am glad we have options nowadays
Anon, many of your comments reminded me of a documentary I saw entitled “The Business of Being Born”…I feel it is a must watch for anyone interested in the subject of “manipulated” interventions during childbirth…
I watched the same doc before I gave birth…funny though, my impression of the movie was that you can plan for a natural birth, but if things go wrong, you don’t have much choice sometimes. I didn’t think there was manipulation…am I forgetting something? I ended up in the same scenario, bradley birth classes and every medical intervention possible, one of the worst births people have heard about, complete with a formal apology from the government. So…in the end, I’m pro-nothing and hope the best for everyone.
By manipulation I meant the cycle of pitocin, d-cells, epidural, c-section. I believe they specifically talk in the movie about how they use drugs to speed up births and move people in and out of labour wards more quickly…the film was specific to the U.S.
I believe we are more fortunate here in Canada…in my two experiences, I was not coerced to use or not use pain interventions at all.
When I read the title of your post I thought it was about something completely different! Since my daughter has food allergies, the word “epi” has a completely different meaning (epi pen!). It’s just funny because among my friends in the allergy world, to epi or not to epi is also a big question! When our child is having a reaction, when do we use the epi pen and when do we use benydryl!
Steph…wanna do a guest blog on that topic?? I think a lot of people would find it useful!
Sure! I’ll send you a message!
I thought the same thing. But have you ever seen a child in anaphlylactic shock? I’d love to hear some accounts – I’ve heard a couple from my girlfriend who’s child has severe allergies and she’s had to administer his epi(pen) more times than we can count. My son carries his epi(pen) for a severe nut allergy, and the two times he’s had a reaction I never doubted “if” he needed it. The first time, he broke out in a rash and I didn’t even recognize it at first – I thought it was a reaction to the sunscreen I’d been applying (turns out it was hazelnuts in the multigrain bread he’d been eating). The second time, he ate a morsel of nuts in his DQ treat (by mistake!!) and within 10 minutes, he started vomitting and it didn’t subside for 4 hours. Neither time was his reaction severe enough to warrant the administration of his epi(pen). I’d like to think anyone can recognize when a child is having severe trouble breating, so would know when to administer the epi?
I love the caption of the drawing, ’WE’ need an epidural =)
I got the epi and I don’t know if I would do it again. It only worked on half of my body so I still felt everything…and I lived through it so I can’t be so bad, right?
I had two babies, and no epidural either time. My labours were both pretty short, and by the time that I felt like I really wanted meds, I was ready to push.
I told myself going in that if it got to the point where I was totally exhausted, I would consider an epidural. Otherwise, I preferred to avoid it. My rationale was that there are side effects for anesthesia. I totally opt for numbing at the dentist, for instance, but it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. I thought that if I could avoid that, I would. I’m glad I did. But if I were to have another child and a protracted labour, I would still consider it.
I think the key thing in birth, though, isn’t whether you get an epidural or not, have a C-section or not, have a midwife or a doctor, etc. I think the key thing is that you feel supported, and that your wishes are taken into account. For me, this means that encouraging someone who doesn’t want to have pain management to get it is inappropriate, and so is discouraging someone who is making an informed decision to opt for pain management. A healthy baby is the number one priority, but it’s also important to take a mother’s mental and physical well-being into account.
Well said, Amber!
I was anti drugs going into labour but after 2 days of pro-dorma labour and not keeping down water or food, I changed my tune! My midwife practically told me I needed one in order to gather enough strength to get through the pushing. Thank god! It was only after taking it did my body relax, baby dropped into position and she finally made her appearance.
I have read some great new research on epis since and apparently there have been lots of new developments making them a lot better than they were 10 yrs ago. I had zero side effects.
I am open to having another one if I need to. I don’t feel like I need to be a martyr. But I am hoping labour will be quicker second time and that possibly I won’t need it. My advice, have a game plan but be willing to stray from it!
With my first baby I had an epi but it was the type had to be topped up by the doctor and I was so numb I couldn’t push effectively. The second time, I had a button that I could push to add more. That was much better as I could manage my pain but still feel to push effectively.
Going into my first pregnancy I was very set against any forms of pain killers.
My labor was 5 hours from start to finish and I only pushed twice (lucky you say? Think runaway freight train of pain with no time to process any of it). I only was on the hospital bed for 2 min before I pushed her out and in hindsight we labored too long at home. If I had made it to the hospital earlier in my labor I’m sure I would have asked for painkillers and post birth I was FAR less judgmental of anyone who got the epi!
It’s easy to say you would or wouldn’t or she should or shouldn’t but until you’re in the exact same scenario (and none of us are, every birth is vastly different) you have no idea what you would have asked for in terms of relief.
I have never been a fan of using meds and with my first one I was inexperienced and spend 10 hrs in the hospital, I had an epidural and didn’t feel a thing but my labor was longer and almost had to have a c-section, I didn’t like that. With my second one I arrived to the hospital 15 min before my baby was born, there was no time for anything and even tough it was a shock, I felt better faster, I liked that (and I also liked that I had an ocean view while my baby was being born)
Everyone’s birth stories are so different. For my first, I experienced PTSD from begging (and not getting) an epidural for six agonizing hours. I had back labour that felt like being disemboweled by wolves. There was only one anethesist on call at Lion’s Gate and he was engaged elsewhere for the entire night.
For my second, I was seen at Women’s due to the stress of the first birth. I asked for and received an epidural at 3cm whether I needed it or not. My healing was slower than the first.
Neither birth was ideal, but not having a choice and being lied to by the hospital staff during the first birth was devastating as a human being.