YES!!! Absolutely!! Rest as much as possible, while you can!
I spent the day on L&D, and thought this would be the perfect entry!! ALL my patients were jumping off the wall anxious today, so in the hopes of alleviating others' fear, here is my post on epidurals.
What is an EPIDURAL? Epidural is used for laboring patients. The skin on your back is numbed up with local anesthetic (feels like a flu shot) & the epidural needle is placed (don't worry- you don't see it). When your anesthesia a provider (M.D. or CRNA) finds the right (epidural) space, a small, thin, super flexible catheter is placed and the needle is taken out. You will receive continuous epidural meds through the catheter until the baby is born and then the cather is taken out.You will be numb from your bellybutton down but will be able to move your legs. Strength in the legs will be decreased, so you will not be able to walk around. Takes about 10 minutes for the effects to fully set. You might have heard of a "walking epidural", but for liability issues, no L&D will allow you to walk around with an epidural. You may be TOO COMFORTABLE so that you may not feel the need to push when you are fully dilated. Your anesthia provider (M.D. or CRNA) can decrease the dose so you are able to FEEL the contractions more.
If you need to get a C-section after a trial of labor, a much stronger med is given through the epidural cather and it can be used for the Section.
When can I get an epidural? ASAP! Sooner the better (from the point of the anesthesiologist). Especially if your ob is starting Pitocin. The recommendation used to be 1-2L of IV fluids before epidural or spinal, so the nurse will put in an IV and give you fluids before calling the anesthesiology. Now its recommended to "co-load" instead of "pre-load".
It's OK to be nervous! My birth plan was: HAVE A HEALTHY BABY & GET AN EPIDURAL.
I place epidurals for laboring patients ALL THE TIME. BUT when it was my turn to be the patient, I was still a LITTLE nervous. JUST a LITTLE.
NO, an epidural:
Risks involved:
I spent the day on L&D, and thought this would be the perfect entry!! ALL my patients were jumping off the wall anxious today, so in the hopes of alleviating others' fear, here is my post on epidurals.
What is an EPIDURAL? Epidural is used for laboring patients. The skin on your back is numbed up with local anesthetic (feels like a flu shot) & the epidural needle is placed (don't worry- you don't see it). When your anesthesia a provider (M.D. or CRNA) finds the right (epidural) space, a small, thin, super flexible catheter is placed and the needle is taken out. You will receive continuous epidural meds through the catheter until the baby is born and then the cather is taken out.You will be numb from your bellybutton down but will be able to move your legs. Strength in the legs will be decreased, so you will not be able to walk around. Takes about 10 minutes for the effects to fully set. You might have heard of a "walking epidural", but for liability issues, no L&D will allow you to walk around with an epidural. You may be TOO COMFORTABLE so that you may not feel the need to push when you are fully dilated. Your anesthia provider (M.D. or CRNA) can decrease the dose so you are able to FEEL the contractions more.
If you need to get a C-section after a trial of labor, a much stronger med is given through the epidural cather and it can be used for the Section.
When can I get an epidural? ASAP! Sooner the better (from the point of the anesthesiologist). Especially if your ob is starting Pitocin. The recommendation used to be 1-2L of IV fluids before epidural or spinal, so the nurse will put in an IV and give you fluids before calling the anesthesiology. Now its recommended to "co-load" instead of "pre-load".
It's OK to be nervous! My birth plan was: HAVE A HEALTHY BABY & GET AN EPIDURAL.
I place epidurals for laboring patients ALL THE TIME. BUT when it was my turn to be the patient, I was still a LITTLE nervous. JUST a LITTLE.
NO, an epidural:
- DOES NOT harm the baby
- DOES NOT slow the progression of labor
- DOES NOT cause nerve damage
- DOES NOT cause back pain
Risks involved:
- bleeding (but not any higher than with IV placement)
- infection (but not any higher than with IV placement)
- headache
- incomplete relief
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Waiting for my epidural |
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