I found that getting an epidural helped me progress because I was so tense while in pain! I had a L&D nurse kneeling in front of me while we waited for the anesthesiologist just reminding me to take every breath.
Omg, I had the same experience! I was tensing up and baby wouldn't descend and I couldn't push him out. He was posterior. Bag of waters was broken hours ago. Six hours later I was in line for a C-section when epidural was administered...during that wait period I napped and felt baby descend! Then it took about 30 minutes to push him out at that point! He came out anterior, by the way. So grateful!👍
So the Epidural itself doesn’t increase your risk of cesarean... what about the fact that your ability to move around & try different birthing positions becomes limited with the epidural? Can that have an impact on delivering vaginally since you don’t have the option of different positions to try & help get the pelvis opened up?
Forceps and vacuums to get the baby out are scary ideas to me, can you go over what that’s like?? Seems dangerous for a baby but I know it’s obviously a medial procedure
Here's what scares me the most about the epidural, and I think it's because I just don't understand this part. The scary part for me is the catheter... How can you lay on it? What if it pulls? How does it not hurt if it pulls, and how does the medication go through the catheter if you're laying on it? Wouldn't the catheter get blocked as if you bend a garden hose, and it stops the water from coming out? Wouldn't you just feel constant pain from a catheter sticking out of your back?
If you're up for it, I'd love hearing more from you about non-medicine approaches to labor and childbirth. At 29 weeks, I've just begun a course in HypnoBirthing and am curious about your experience with birthing moms who have used this approach. For instance, letting mom progress on her own clock, rather than rushing Pitocin, assuming there are limited/no risks to unborn baby and to mom.
Do you often see women get a “walking” epidural? My impression is this allows women to still have some flexibility to be up and moving around, change positions, and feel the pushing sensation. Does an epidural affect the second stage of labor if a woman cannot feel the urge to push and instead requires coaching through each push?
The concept of a low-dose or "walking" epidural is not as common that I have seen because the amount of medication with an epidural "light" enough to allow weight baring and walking also has much less pain control than a more traditional labor epidural. However I do think that this is something more are interested in, so definitely talk to the anesthesia providers at your hospital about it if you are interested! Some women definitely still feel the pushing sensation more than others even with traditional labor epidurals. In the video I talked about the second stage of labor, it's only different by ~7 minutes! So clearly that is a very small difference between no epidural at all and a traditional epidural, not much to be concerned about at all!
@@dr.martaperez couldn't feel at all when I needed to push with my first child and labour can last longer like with an induction I'm pregnant with no 7 and nervous now bc my doctor wants me to get an induction they are very tough on me
Great video thanks! Could you tell me why is it that with a walking epidural I completely felt the ring of fire? My doctor told me there wasn't any other option
I had to get 2 epidurals with my first. the 1st one took 2 hours to do because they couldn't find the right spot and it only "numbed" my right side so I felt everything on my left side. we tried to get the left side to get "numb" and nothing worked. 12 hours later I got my 2nd one and it still didn't do anything. I also had to have an oxygen mask on every time they came to check me, after I got that 1st epidural. also 26 hours of labor because I was progressing so slow.
Could you please explain what happen to me when I receive my epidural. When I got the epidural, my body immediately went numb , and I mean all the way numb ,up the chest / arms area too. My oxygen was dropping to the put where I did past out and barely woke up to push the baby out. I heard the doctor say , if she doesn’t wake up , we will take her to emergency c section .
An epidural does take about 20 minute to place and usually Anesthesia doctors want a lab check too, which may mean it’s more like 45- 60 minutes before it’s done! If a person is so far along in labor that the baby will be born by then it may not be possible! Another issue is that the pain has to be tolerable enough to sit very still while they place it, and sometimes someone is so far along they really can’t be still during the pain of the contractions and labor. Those may be 2 reasons. But when it happens, it’s usually over fast!
I was administered an epidural after I already pushed for over an hour. At that point i was laying on my side, but they administered the epidural, as I was waiting to go to C-Section at that point. After that, baby descended and I was able to have a vaginal delivery! During my labor from 5cm to 10cm, they wouldn't give me an epidural for some reason....
I had a post spinal headache with my first epidural. When i stood my head felt like it was going to explode. I had to crawl around my house and couldnt feel it. Went to er and they gave me fluids and caffine to knock it out.
If someone experienced a large drop in BP after an epidural the first time, would it be expected to happen the next time they get an epidural or not necessarily?
It depends! I could have been a lot of factors, but it is definitely something to talk to you anesthesiologist about at the time of your next delivery.
My legs still feel weak/shaky, and a little tingly if I stand or walk for a few mins. It’s been 62 hours since the injection for a surgery I had, I was fully numb to my chest and it took 8 hours for any feeling and mobility. Is that normal? I can walk but it’s kinda hard to!
My greatest concern with an epidural is my individual biology. I have always had low blood pressure problems with dysautonomia. This presents as POTS and PH at times (hydration and daily exercise has improved this tremendously, but pregnancy knocked that progress back down.). I hear often from birth stories that lead to c-section that it was prompted by a "drop in fetal heart rate". Should I be concerned that my existing low blood pressure might be exacerbated, leading to decreased fetal heart rate and subsequent unwanted outcomes?
The drop in fetal heart rate is usually temporary and responds to conservative measures. Since epidural vs non-epidural does not change the C-section rate in many, high-quality studies, this would be very rare. For your individual physiology, I would consider an anesthesiology consult before delivery, talk to your OB about arranging one.
I found that getting an epidural helped me progress because I was so tense while in pain! I had a L&D nurse kneeling in front of me while we waited for the anesthesiologist just reminding me to take every breath.
I hear that a lot, I'm not sure that scientifically we have a physiologic explanation but it's definitely something that is talked about a lot!
Omg, I had the same experience! I was tensing up and baby wouldn't descend and I couldn't push him out. He was posterior. Bag of waters was broken hours ago. Six hours later I was in line for a C-section when epidural was administered...during that wait period I napped and felt baby descend! Then it took about 30 minutes to push him out at that point! He came out anterior, by the way. So grateful!👍
So the Epidural itself doesn’t increase your risk of cesarean... what about the fact that your ability to move around & try different birthing positions becomes limited with the epidural? Can that have an impact on delivering vaginally since you don’t have the option of different positions to try & help get the pelvis opened up?
Forceps and vacuums to get the baby out are scary ideas to me, can you go over what that’s like?? Seems dangerous for a baby but I know it’s obviously a medial procedure
Here's what scares me the most about the epidural, and I think it's because I just don't understand this part. The scary part for me is the catheter... How can you lay on it? What if it pulls? How does it not hurt if it pulls, and how does the medication go through the catheter if you're laying on it? Wouldn't the catheter get blocked as if you bend a garden hose, and it stops the water from coming out? Wouldn't you just feel constant pain from a catheter sticking out of your back?
Does having migraines increase your risk of the headache after epidural?
Such a great video, thank you.
All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.
Great video :) thanks for sharing!
So glad you found it helpful!
If you're up for it, I'd love hearing more from you about non-medicine approaches to labor and childbirth. At 29 weeks, I've just begun a course in HypnoBirthing and am curious about your experience with birthing moms who have used this approach. For instance, letting mom progress on her own clock, rather than rushing Pitocin, assuming there are limited/no risks to unborn baby and to mom.
I'll be posting on other strategies for pain management this week, so stay tuned!
Do you often see women get a “walking” epidural? My impression is this allows women to still have some flexibility to be up and moving around, change positions, and feel the pushing sensation.
Does an epidural affect the second stage of labor if a woman cannot feel the urge to push and instead requires coaching through each push?
The concept of a low-dose or "walking" epidural is not as common that I have seen because the amount of medication with an epidural "light" enough to allow weight baring and walking also has much less pain control than a more traditional labor epidural. However I do think that this is something more are interested in, so definitely talk to the anesthesia providers at your hospital about it if you are interested! Some women definitely still feel the pushing sensation more than others even with traditional labor epidurals. In the video I talked about the second stage of labor, it's only different by ~7 minutes! So clearly that is a very small difference between no epidural at all and a traditional epidural, not much to be concerned about at all!
@@dr.martaperez couldn't feel at all when I needed to push with my first child and labour can last longer like with an induction I'm pregnant with no 7 and nervous now bc my doctor wants me to get an induction they are very tough on me
Great video thanks! Could you tell me why is it that with a walking epidural I completely felt the ring of fire? My doctor told me there wasn't any other option
Thank you for the video! I have scoliosis and am worried about epidural risks due to this. Is it more risky for me to get one?
I had to get 2 epidurals with my first. the 1st one took 2 hours to do because they couldn't find the right spot and it only "numbed" my right side so I felt everything on my left side. we tried to get the left side to get "numb" and nothing worked. 12 hours later I got my 2nd one and it still didn't do anything. I also had to have an oxygen mask on every time they came to check me, after I got that 1st epidural. also 26 hours of labor because I was progressing so slow.
Could you please explain what happen to me when I receive my epidural. When I got the epidural, my body immediately went numb , and I mean all the way numb ,up the chest / arms area too. My oxygen was dropping to the put where I did past out and barely woke up to push the baby out. I heard the doctor say , if she doesn’t wake up , we will take her to emergency c section .
Omg! Im sorry this happened to you. Ive heard of someone else reacting like this before. This scares the daylight out of me 🥺
@@samicumar9501 yes it was definitely scary. It's crazy cuz i can't find anyone else this has happen to. Or why did this happen .
@@thewifemommylife8238 🥺 glad all was okay in the end ♥️
When I delivered they told me it was too late for the epidural. What dictates this?
An epidural does take about 20 minute to place and usually Anesthesia doctors want a lab check too, which may mean it’s more like 45- 60 minutes before it’s done! If a person is so far along in labor that the baby will be born by then it may not be possible! Another issue is that the pain has to be tolerable enough to sit very still while they place it, and sometimes someone is so far along they really can’t be still during the pain of the contractions and labor. Those may be 2 reasons. But when it happens, it’s usually over fast!
I was administered an epidural after I already pushed for over an hour. At that point i was laying on my side, but they administered the epidural, as I was waiting to go to C-Section at that point. After that, baby descended and I was able to have a vaginal delivery! During my labor from 5cm to 10cm, they wouldn't give me an epidural for some reason....
Thoughts on nitrous oxide ‘ laughing gas’ for pain management.
For your next video
Yes!! I will definitely cover this next Friday!
I had a post spinal headache with my first epidural. When i stood my head felt like it was going to explode. I had to crawl around my house and couldnt feel it. Went to er and they gave me fluids and caffine to knock it out.
If someone experienced a large drop in BP after an epidural the first time, would it be expected to happen the next time they get an epidural or not necessarily?
It depends! I could have been a lot of factors, but it is definitely something to talk to you anesthesiologist about at the time of your next delivery.
My legs still feel weak/shaky, and a little tingly if I stand or walk for a few mins. It’s been 62 hours since the injection for a surgery I had, I was fully numb to my chest and it took 8 hours for any feeling and mobility. Is that normal? I can walk but it’s kinda hard to!
Just curious, how long did it take to walk normally again? Thanks.
My greatest concern with an epidural is my individual biology. I have always had low blood pressure problems with dysautonomia. This presents as POTS and PH at times (hydration and daily exercise has improved this tremendously, but pregnancy knocked that progress back down.). I hear often from birth stories that lead to c-section that it was prompted by a "drop in fetal heart rate". Should I be concerned that my existing low blood pressure might be exacerbated, leading to decreased fetal heart rate and subsequent unwanted outcomes?
The drop in fetal heart rate is usually temporary and responds to conservative measures. Since epidural vs non-epidural does not change the C-section rate in many, high-quality studies, this would be very rare. For your individual physiology, I would consider an anesthesiology consult before delivery, talk to your OB about arranging one.
Epidural saved my labor from a C-Section!👍