What you should know about epidural

Expecting ladies who are wondering whether or not to take the epidural as a method of pain relieve during natural birth delivery should do their own research to understand more about epidural. While some women swear by epidural as the best pain killer, there are others who prefer other methods of pain killers such as using gas or a jab called pethidine.

Before I delivered, I asked many experienced mothers what their experiences with epidural were like. I got many mixed responses. Some have the highest regards for epidural, putting it high on a pedestal and citing it to be a God-sent invention to womankind. On the other side of the coin, I also had women who swore off using epidural again, ever. So there you have it, the two extreme points of view. So how do you even begin to make up your mind?

Firstly, you need to have a chat with your gynae. He or she will be able to give you facts about the jab. More importantly, you should pay attention to the known side effects of epidural. Some of the effects I’ve heard of from those mothers who do not favour epidural are frequent headaches, back pains and poor memory. On top of these, your doctor may give you a long list of other effects which can sound something like this:

• Dural puncture
• Hypotension
• Nausea, vomiting, shivering (I personally experienced the shivering)
• Prolonged labour
• Neurological complications (is this the poorer sense of memory experienced by some women?)
• Bladder dysfunction
• Paresthesia (the “pins and needles” sensation)

Now that you know some of the possible side effects of epidural, you should also know what epidural does. Essentially, it is a pain-relieving medicine that is injected into the spine to numb the lower abdomen. When properly administered, the patient should feel nothing at all within minutes of taking the injection.

Some women applaud this method because they will not feel the contraction pain during labour. Whilst this may be comforting to those whose pain tolerance is low, you should also know that once you do not feel the contractions, you would not know when to push your baby out. Therefore you need to rely on your nurse and doctor to tell you when it’s time. It may not be a big deal to many ladies, so long as they feel no pain. But being the diverse creature that we are, some women actually prefer to go through childbirth feeling the entire process naturally from contraction to the delivery of her baby. If you are one of these brave souls, then you may not want to take epidural at all.

Here’s what happens when you decide to take this jab. An anesthesiologist will attend to you to administer the jab. Before you begin the process, the anesthesiologist will hand you some indemnity form to read and sign. From my experience, it was read out and explained to me about the possible side effects of what I’m about to do. Only when I’ve agree and signed on the form, the anesthesiologist proceeded to prepare me for the jab.

Part of the preparation includes being set up on various monitors to track pulse, blood pressure and EKG. Then, to administer the jab, you will be asked to either sit up and hunch forward while hugging a pillow in front of you or you may lie curled to the side. The reason you need to be in such a position is for the anesthesiologist to accurately find the correct spot on your spine to administer the jab.

The first jab given is a local anesthetic to numb an area of the spine. Then the epidural needle is put in place at the spinal cord and will be kept there until after the delivery. This is to facilitate the dosage flow of epidural into the body. Once the needle is properly placed, the anesthesiologist will now administer the appropriate dosage of the medicine. It should take about half an hour for you to feel the total numb effect of the epidural. To keep a check on the progress of the epidural taking effect on your body, normally the nurse will use something cold to place on your abdomen and ask if you feel any sensation.

From my experience, I needed pretty high dosage of epidural because I was quite far along in my labour and yet the epidural hadn’t quite kicked in. Before the dosage can be increased, the anesthesiologist must approve of it.

You may also want to know that epidural may not work 100% as you expect. When administered too far along the labour period, it may not have kicked in before you need to deliver your baby. So always bear in mind that you should get to the hospital with a sufficient time lead if you want the epidural to work properly.

While you may still be confused and undecided whether to have a chance at going through an almost painless delivery, this is a decision that is yours and only yours. Do not be pressured to do what others did. You know yourself better and what you want. After all, childbirth is a magical experience (minus the pain, of course) and only you have the right to choose how you wish to go through it.

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