I am due with my first in a couple weeks and if it wasn’t for the fact that I am needing a c section due to him being breech, I would be getting an epidural in a heartbeat.
I am due with my first in a couple weeks and if it wasn’t for the fact that I am needing a c section due to him being breech, I would be getting an epidural in a heartbeat.
My wife tried going without at first, but changed her mind pretty quickly once things started getting real, and I'm so glad she did. She went from having been awake pretty much all night to gently...
My wife tried going without at first, but changed her mind pretty quickly once things started getting real, and I'm so glad she did. She went from having been awake pretty much all night to gently dozing pretty much right away. She got probably over an hour of rest thanks 100% due to the epidural, which is crazy given the waves of pain she'd been in just moments before.
Congrats on the future baby, I wish you all the joy and at least some measure of sleep in the coming months. Don't forget to take time for yourself when you can, even if that's just a shower and a nap when the baby's sleeping!
Same experience here. We had our baby 12 days ago and wife wasn't sure she wanted an epidural. She really wanted to try without it, but the pain was unbearable. Once she got the epidural flowing,...
Same experience here. We had our baby 12 days ago and wife wasn't sure she wanted an epidural. She really wanted to try without it, but the pain was unbearable. Once she got the epidural flowing, it was a world of relief for her. Everyone is different and your mileage may vary because it's invasive, but it helped us and there were no complications from it.
In an epidural, a flexible tube is inserted under local anesthetic between the spinal vertebrae after the mother has begun having contractions. The analgesic, a combination of local anesthetic, opioids, and occasionally steroids that varies between hospitals, is pumped through the tube directly into the epidural space, located just outside the sac surrounding the spinal cord, where it numbs pain signals from the uterus and pelvis.
This relieves the entire lower body of pain within around half an hour. The analgesic is then continuously infused through the tube; with modern epidurals, a laboring mother can safely increase her dose at any time by pressing a button.
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In many developed countries, epidurals are popular, with the majority or a significant minority of laboring women choosing one, especially if giving birth for the first time. Today, 79 percent of American first-time mothers, 64 percent of Irish first-time mothers and just over 50 percent of Norwegian first-time mothers have an epidural. In France, epidurals are even more popular, with 82 percent of all women giving birth vaginally receiving one.
In poorer countries, use of epidurals is often much lower, due to a lack of awareness among women, cost, and a lack of necessary equipment and staff. In China, 70 percent of women deliver with no pain relief, and the government has targets in place to improve access and so make giving birth better for Chinese women. One report suggests that in India, only around 11 percent of women receive pain relief in labor and awareness is low. A study of 200 pregnant Indian women attending one clinic found that 98 percent did not know it was possible to relieve labor pains and that none had ever heard of anyone using an epidural.
I am due with my first in a couple weeks and if it wasn’t for the fact that I am needing a c section due to him being breech, I would be getting an epidural in a heartbeat.
Good luck 🤞 congratulations.
My wife tried going without at first, but changed her mind pretty quickly once things started getting real, and I'm so glad she did. She went from having been awake pretty much all night to gently dozing pretty much right away. She got probably over an hour of rest thanks 100% due to the epidural, which is crazy given the waves of pain she'd been in just moments before.
Congrats on the future baby, I wish you all the joy and at least some measure of sleep in the coming months. Don't forget to take time for yourself when you can, even if that's just a shower and a nap when the baby's sleeping!
Same experience here. We had our baby 12 days ago and wife wasn't sure she wanted an epidural. She really wanted to try without it, but the pain was unbearable. Once she got the epidural flowing, it was a world of relief for her. Everyone is different and your mileage may vary because it's invasive, but it helped us and there were no complications from it.
From the article:
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