Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
Jan
6
Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
“90% Of Women Get An Epidural.”
“90% of women get an epidural.” – L&D Nurse to mother during labor when mother asked not to be offered pain medications.
There are 27 comments to this post.
Good for them, I still don’t want to be offered pain medication. Now how hard is that for you to understand?
I am so glad I found a hospital for this baby where they actually have you fill out whether you want to be offered pain meds or not, as well as if you want to be free to move and change positions and not be hooked to an IV.
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This is mine. It actually wasn’t bad. The hospital room had a white board where we could write 2 birth goals. The nurse started to write “Healthy Baby” “Healthy Mom” which is all well and good, but I took those to be a given and wanted something else up. So I wrote “Pain-medication fee VBAC” and “Mom to be first to hold baby”. (I was completely out for my sons birth and didn’t hold until 3 days later so these were important goals for me.) I then went on to say that I didn’t want to be offered any pain meds and even if I ask for it, to make me ask more than once. She then told me that “90% of women get an epidural these days.” I told her I wouldn’t be one of them!
She was great about it after that and was really helpful – even ran me a bath AFTER the OB broke my water. She was older and I like to think respected my choice once I made it very clear what I wanted. I was still astounded that so many women in this hospital get an epi. The hospital had lots of great birth-friendly items: ball, bar, etc – but you had to ask for them. I’m 90% 
sure that if you came in without clear desires and education you’d end up delivering on your back with an epi.
I ended up having an induced VBAC at 40 weeks 4 days that ended with a happy healthy baby girl that I was the first to hold! I lifted my baby off the table and into my arms! No epi!
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Michelle Potter Reply:
January 6th, 2012 at 3:30 pm (Quote)
I’m so glad it all worked out well for you!
I have to say, though, it bugs me that she was going to write your birth goals for you.
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Mom of One Reply:
January 6th, 2012 at 3:31 pm (Quote)
I am so glad you were able to have the birth you wanted! Congratulations for standing up for yourself… although it is a shame that you had to and all these things aren’t just automatically offered.
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Miss M: glad you persevered and got the birth you hoped for. am writing as a maternity nurse and have to say that the % she quotes is true for some hospitals. usually, their induction rates are high as well. we also do a balancing act, because we have to educate families about “pain management options” and I have experienced that after women told me of their wish to experience a birth without pain meds, their provider would come in and “educate” them all over again. we also work with families that wish to feel nothing and get mad when we cannot fulfill their wishes. our system is set up these days with the pressure from regulatory agencies that we treat pain adequately and unfortunately, labor pain gets lumped in with all other kinds of pain that might be pathological and we need to keep pain under a 3/10. it is a crazy making system! at a hospital with a high epidural rate, it can be difficult for new nurses to feel confident in labor support skills. i am lucky to have started 20 yrs ago, in a very different world and cannot wait to retire.
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Mama Wrench Reply:
January 6th, 2012 at 4:46 pm (Quote)
So… you’re supposed to keep it below an arbitrary point on a subjective scale intended to measure pain caused by injury or disease?
DOES NOT COMPUTE.
Also lots of mothers report that labor is “intensely uncomfortable” rather than painful; how does one quantify that?
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Vy Reply:
January 6th, 2012 at 6:42 pm (Quote)
Interestingly, when I’ve been asked to rate my pain for non-childbirth issues (I had a neck injury) I was asked to rate it in a scale of 1-10, with 1 being no pain and 10 being the pain of childbirth… which they had assumed I’d experienced because I stated I had a son, even though 90% of women supposedly get epidurals…
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Judith Reply:
January 6th, 2012 at 6:48 pm (Quote)
many moms get epidurals, true but most experience some labor and labor pain before getting it and it does not always work or not completely. wow, would never have thought people would put childbirth at the top. anyway, it is so theoretical. i never know what to say when i see my chiropractor and they ask me to rate my pain.
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jaed Reply:
January 6th, 2012 at 7:16 pm (Quote)
I have to post this pain scale again.
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mharry Reply:
January 6th, 2012 at 9:03 pm (Quote)
That made my day. Also, I think I’ve hit a seven just by dropping half a walmart bookshelf on my foot.
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Kit Reply:
January 7th, 2012 at 6:29 am (Quote)
That is hilarious! I love it. I am contemplating putting a copy in my hospital bag to pull out when the nurse asks me to rate my pain. But I’ve already told DH we’re not going until I feel like pushing, so it will be redundant at that point. Oh well.
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Vy Reply:
January 8th, 2012 at 12:05 pm (Quote)
Love it!
When I did have my neck injury, and I finally picked a number, the nurse asked if I was sure it wasn’t higher (since I was crying and unable to move). I guess I was acting like I was around a 9 or 10 on the pain scale… I told her, “it’s not like someone threw acid on my face. I figure THAT would be a ten.” Normally I have more of a filter but I guess that day my super-legit, disturbing amount of pain was affecting my judgment.
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Skyfire Reply:
January 6th, 2012 at 9:50 pm (Quote)
Interesting…if the scale is 1 to 10 and ten is the pain of childbirth, how can I rate the severe ankle sprain I received a few years back? The instant of that injury was far, far worse than labor. I’ve had migraines where I actually wished I could be giving birth instead. On Allie’s scale, childbirth was a 5, maybe a 6 at crowning.
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Michelle Potter Reply:
January 7th, 2012 at 1:01 pm (Quote)
That is a bizarre question. No way I would put childbirth anywhere near the 10.
On the chart linked below, I would say my most painful birth was a 3 (“This is distressing. I don’t want this to be happening to me at all.”) But then, I really only have three levels of pain:
1 – I’m fine, leave me alone.
2 – I’m uncomfortable, please leave me alone.
3 – OMG I’M EFFING DYING, HELP ME.
I’ve only hit the last one ONCE, during a miscarriage. 5 labors, 2 c-sections, a severe kidney infection, a blood clot, and a severe burn to the palm of my hand all rated a “please leave me alone.”
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Christina Reply:
January 6th, 2012 at 8:52 pm (Quote)
When I was in transition at my hospital birth I had a random nurse walk in my room and ask me where I was on the pain scale. I’m pretty sure my response was something along the lines of “are you effing KIDDING me?!” She turned around and walked out all huffy. I understand it has to go in the chart but seriously what kind of question is that to ask an unmedicated women in the final stages of labor? Just make something up for pete’s sake!
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Mama Wrench; i see you get my dilemma! stupid and crazy!
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Kristy Reply:
January 6th, 2012 at 4:58 pm (Quote)
I’ve seemed to have fairly supportive nurses from your description. I think they must be going on a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ sort of policy. I don’t remember being asked to numerically rate my contractions except on admission… you make me wonder if they are respecting my birth plan and avoiding the situation where they ‘have’ to offer meds.
But no… that couldn’t be because they *do* offer IV meds about the time I hit transition… almost without fail. 
And I tend to fall for it… and then I get the meds late enough that they really don’t even take effect till the baby has been born! Maybe with #6 I’ll learn not to give in.
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Liz had this to say,
Jan 9, 2012 @ 10:50 am (Quote)
I knew a guy who worked as an L&D intern in college. He told me that whenever a laboring mother comes in and says she wanted a natural birth, all the nurses would joke and bet about how they would always give in and get the epidural. I was appalled but felt like I would be mocked by him if I said anything. A year later I had my first natural birth and I wanted to email him and tell him he was so wrong.
The defeatist attitude of hospital staff can really impact a woman’s self-confidence!
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Add Your Comment.
In an ideal world, the ideal reply: “How lovely for them! I’m so glad you respect the choices of women who opt for an epidural! It’s a great world where women can choose the level of pain relief they want during childbirth. And similarly, I too have made a choice. Thank you for respecting it.”
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Corita Reply:
January 6th, 2012 at 3:01 pm Corita(Quote)
“How fascinating! I love statistics! That means..hmm….10% don’t right? Oooh I just adore math games!”
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