Epidural yes or no?

It's fentanyl so as long as you do research and see how it may affect you and baby and make an educated choice at the end of the day it's what each individual person is comfortable with. Please research the risks not just the benefits bc I know a lot of women it didn't even work or they have back issues for the rest of their life

I had an epidural with my son. No complications everything went well. Didn't even feel it going in. My son was born about 5 hr after placement. If I'm able to, I'm going to have one again this pregnancy

Yes. I had it with my first and i felt in control of myself and the experience was positive overall. Even though it ended in an emergency c-section (unrelated to the epidural, my son got stuck), I felt like myself and in good spirits the whole time. My second I had a VBAC and didn't get to hospital in time for an epidural. I felt insane and embarrassed afterwards because I was not in control of myself. I feel afraid of giving birth again because of that experience 😕 HOWEVER! I think the reason I had such a horrible time without the epidural is because I had planned to get one and couldn't. If I had gone in planning not to get one, I likely would have learned techniques to stay in control and my husband would have learned ways to help me. Neither of us were prepared, and I think that's why it was so upsetting for me.

I had an epidural right at the end just for pushing, best thing ever. I was up and walking within a couple of hours after giving birth, had a shower and never had any side effects. Definitely took the fear out of the pushing part for me

I don't plan on it but not opposed to it if I need. X

I had an epidural and I was the 1 in 100 where they pierced the fluid around my spine and I had an awful headache and dizziness for 2 days. Was only better when I was laying flat. So had an extended stay in hospital and then I had to go in for another procedure called a blood patch where they injected my own blood in to the epidural site to close up the hole they original epidural had created. Not to scare you Becuase I know it works amazing for some people, but really take in to consideration all the risks as I didn’t and it ended in quite a traumatic postpartum experience x

they can be beneficial and if i woman wants one she should get one, but it’s not something i would want. its not risk free and personally i didnt want to numb myself from labor/birth

No epidural also had no time for one anyway but was nice totally in tune with my body on pushing etc was quick and didn’t have to stay longer in the hospital

From what I’ve read and heard from other women you can have back pain/issues for years after and to me for a day/few hours in pain it doesn’t seem worth it to me. No epidural for me x

I think the main thing I would say is just do your research so you know what it is and know that if you have it you will likely be absolutely fine afterwards. I didn’t plan to have one and in fact I was quite anti it and then during labour when I was about 7cms the gas and air wasn’t enough and I changed my mind! It was absolutely not as scary or terrible as I thought and there were no lasting effects on me or my baby. Birth is hard and amazing for some, but just do what you’ve got to do!😊

I really didn’t want one, had one, and wish I never did. My baby will be one next month and I’m still struggling with back pains. Feel free to send a message if you have any questions. I had a bad expierence but have friends who had no issues at all and would do it again 🙏

Had the epidural with my daughter and will also be requesting it with my son, to each their own

Had it with my 3 yr old only because I was trying to go for a natural birth but them contractions wasn’t letting me do that not only that her heart rate had dropped and I was told that if that happened again they would have to give me an emergency c section thank god that didn’t happen but me personally I wouldn’t do it again Cause when it finally wore off, I was in pain the worst pain I have ever felt in my life

Was the highlight of my birth 😂 But honestly I’d researched the risks beforehand and knew I was comfortable getting one if I felt I needed it. I didn’t feel a thing and pushed my LG out in 45 mins. You do hear a lot of the negatives, nothing about birth is risk free regardless of what you choose. Remember that back pain etc can be exacerbated by suddenly having to constantly hold/carry/support an increasingly heavy baby, or by co-sleeping positions, or feeding positions, and then a lot of women will attribute it to the fact they had an epidural, when it might not be the case! Good luck whatever you choose :)

I got one and they tried to reposition it twice but it didn’t work properly so I wish I knew beforehand that it won’t necessarily work but it’s not put me off getting one if I need next time

After 36 hours of no sleep...it saved me 🤣 ended up having a c section so they just topped it up

The best part about my birth. Didn’t need a catheter they gave me a chance to see if I was still mobile which I was. Only had the 1st dose didn’t need to top up at all so I still had full motion but no pain. Actually forgot why I was in the hospital then got reminded I had to push a child out and cried😂

Yessss

There is no sense in trying to put yourself through unbearable pain if you cannot take it. Everyone pain tolerance is different. Some says it wasn’t that painful. Some says it felt as if they were dying so I support anyone who wants an epidural. I wish I could’ve had one.

A definite yes from me.

I didn't want one and didn't feel I needed one either time. Some women want it straight off. It's your own personal choice. I don't judge anyone who has one but for me it didn't feel necessary

It was a lifesaver for me, so yes !!!

I had an epidural. Didn't want one but I definitely needed one with induction and a 36hr labour. I didn't have any issues afterwards from it at all. It wasn't planned at all but ide ended up in such a state that my BP was climbing really high. As soon as they administered it, if came right down and I was able to get some rest while I contracted.

@Charlotte Precisely this. I had back pain after my birth and I initially blamed it on the epidural. What it actually was was me being in so much pain from tears I wasn't relaxing enough to fully empty my bladder. So it had nothing to do with the epidural. Once I'd completely emptied my bladder I was fine!

Never had the epidural, but if you don't want to feel pain or low pain tolerance, just get it.

Heard so many stories about people still having back pain years after so I decided not to go for it and I hate needles anyway, a no for me

A 100 times yes. No issues whatsoever. You can still feel the birth, just not the demonic pain you are in.

I was against having an epidural but ended up getting one. My labour was long, I was exhausted, and when the doctor said it could still be several hours before I gave birth I knew I’d be too tired to push properly, so I got the epidural. I’m so glad I did, the experience was a lot more enjoyable. I haven’t had any back pain issues or side effects from it.

I didn’t plan to have one but then I was induced and the pain got bad so quickly and gas and air was making emmvomit

They terrify me when I visited my cousin immediately after her delivery she ended up with a reaction similar to an allergic reaction to the epidural. The nurse was so chill about it and said it’s not uncommon. I’m also terrified of catheters so it was 100% no go for me lol

Yes!!!