Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
Jan
17
Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
“In A World Of Drugs, Why Would You NOT Get An Epidural?”
“In a world of drugs, why would you *NOT* get an epidural.” – Nursing student
There are 32 comments to this post.
Kate, Ren's mama had this to say,
Jan 17, 2012 @ 2:22 pm (Quote)
I know so many women with this mentality 
I would not judge a woman who chooses an epidural, but we as a society do NOT do a good job talking about the risks and drawbacks. And in a culture that is constantly telling women that our bodies are weak, defective, dirty and dangerous, the push for drugs is just another way of telling women, “You can’t do it; you need to be rescued from yourself”
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My response to this question would be, “as a nursing student, do you mean that as a sincere question?” I would be happy to share my reasons, but only to someone who will actually LISTEN. Maybe she could “grow up” to be the nurse all the women wanting “natural” labors ask for. Since it’s posted on this site, I’m going to assume her tone didn’t indicate a teaching moment.
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“For the very same reason I don’t take any other unnecessary drugs. I believe that drugs are there for when there is a problem. As long as I’m not having a problem, I’m not taking drugs.”
Part of the problem, as I see it, with the health of this country is that everyone wants a magic pill to fix everything. No one wants to do the work of changing a diet, letting a cold run its course, etc. Okay, off my soapbox I go.
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Talya had this to say,
Jan 17, 2012 @ 3:13 pm (Quote)
I work for big pharma so it is often presumed I have this same sentiment (Though I don’t). If you have a medical condition where a drug would help after other lifestyle or behavioral changes are made than great. If not, then why would you take them. I met a PA at a Christmas party that believes everyone should be on lipitor because why not… ugg, scary sentiment by a health professional.
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SculptorAlison Reply:
January 28th, 2012 at 11:35 am (Quote)
There are people that want to put statins in the water supply. I really think they’re genuinely trying to poison us.
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http://www.americanpregnancy.org/labornbirth/epidural.html
Epidurals may cause your blood pressure to suddenly drop. For this reason your blood pressure will be routinely checked to make sure there is adequate blood flow to your baby. If this happens you may need to be treated with IV fluids, medications, and oxygen
You may experience a severe headache caused by leakage of spinal fluid. Less than 1% of women experience this side effect from epidural use. If symptoms persist, a special procedure called a “blood patch”, an injection of your blood into the epidural space, can be done to relieve the headache
After your epidural is placed, you will need to alternate from lying on one side to the other in bed and have continuous monitoring for changes in fetal heart rate. Lying in one position can sometimes cause labor to slow down or stop
You may experience the following side effects: shivering, ringing of the ears, backache, soreness where the needle is inserted, nausea, or difficulty urinating
You may find that your epidural makes pushing more difficult and additional interventions such as Pitocin, forceps, vacuum extraction or cesarean may become necessary
For a few hours after birth the lower half of your body may feel numb which will require you to walk with assistance
In rare instances, permanent nerve damage may result in the area where the catheter was inserted.
Though research is somewhat ambiguous, most studies suggest some babies will have trouble “latching on” which can lead to breastfeeding difficulties. Other studies suggest that the baby may experience respiratory depression, fetal malpositioning; and an increase in fetal heart rate variability, which may increase the need for forceps, vacuum, cesarean deliveries and episiotomies.
THIS IS WHY.
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Kate, Ren's mama Reply:
January 17th, 2012 at 3:47 pm (Quote)
That’s a really good summary. I do wish they mentioned that while some adverse effects are not super common (spinal headache, infection), others are extremely common (maternal hypotension) or ubiquitous (monitoring, difficulty w/ mobility).
Also, another very common side effect is maternal fever, which develops about 1/3 of the time and is indistinguishable from fever caused by infection, so it is generally treated with IV abx, abx for the baby, more monitoring and putting mama’s labor on a clock.
Not to mention the fact that the pain relief is not 100% effective.
And, no, they don’t tell you all this stuff when you go to get one. Grr…
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Jade Reply:
January 22nd, 2012 at 6:18 am (Quote)
I wish that all medical professionals thought before recommending any drug (in this case epidural). During my first labour I had to have an argument with a Dr about the fact that I didn’t want an epidural. After much insistence that not only did I not want one because the pain wasn’t that bad, but that the side effects were not something I was willing to risk. The Dr’s reply “the most common one is a drop in blood pressure which is never a problem” Me: ” my blood pressure is already extremely low” him “it can’t be that low *checks chart* that must be wrong, I will take it *75/50* OH, it is that low, you shouldn’t have an epidural, we would have a very big problem on our hands if someone gave you one, I will make sure you don’t get one”
I never wanted one, I had already told everyone not to offer one.
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Amy Reply:
January 17th, 2012 at 4:13 pm (Quote)
Thank you for this! My husband and I were just discussing births yesterday and he expressed fear that a drug-free birth for our second (first one, epidural wore off before transition but pit was still jacked up high) would be more traumatic for the baby since DS’ heartrate dropped at points during labor. He had no idea that it might have been caused by the drugs. I needed this backup, thank you!!!
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Details Reply:
January 18th, 2012 at 9:25 am (Quote)
The very first rule for a heart rate problem in a baby whose mother is recieving pit should be to TURN OFF THE PIT. Unfortunately it is not. The usual thinking goes along the line of OMG we have to get this baby out of there now. Which of course only makes matters worse.
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Jessica Reply:
January 18th, 2012 at 11:13 am (Quote)
My DS’s heartrate dropped during my unmedicated labor, it’s actually very common from what I understand. That’s why it’s good to have someone (mine was a midwife) who can tell the difference between a normal drop and an unsafe drop. We used a handheld monitor to check. I say this so you can make sure he’s not under the impression that going drug free ensures that won’t happen. (With my DS his cord was wrapped around his neck twice and his body/leg twice. He got a little stuck b/c of it and thats why he had decels.)
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I would really need to know the tone and context behind this before saying anything ugly. Seeing as how it came from a nursing student, it could very well be an honest question. I’m assuming that the tone wasn’t good since it was submitted to this site but I want to read the pink link before saying anything else.
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Laura Reply:
January 17th, 2012 at 5:00 pm (Quote)
Yes. I’m guessing the tone was outright bad and/or it was delivered rhetorically, more as a statement, since it’s here.
If only it were a genuine question and the answer listened to and heeded…that would be a good thing. But like you, I’m guessing that’s probably not the case since it was posted here.
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Aron Reply:
January 18th, 2012 at 7:06 am (Quote)
I am guessing that part of the surprise at the comment is that many people expect a nursing student to have learned all the reasons why avoiding an epidural when possible would be wise. Unfortunately, most nursing schools don’t do an adequate job of explaining the benefits of unmedicated births – they make epidurals, pitocin, amniotomy, episiotome, etc. all just sound like that are as likely to occur as the mom choosing to wear socks while pushing.
As a doula who has sat through my share of hospital childbirth ed classes, and as a new nurse, I can vouch that there wasn’t any difference between the two and both were inadequate.
In my perfect world all L&D nurses would be required to certify as doulas before they would be allowed to work in that unit (and all nurses who worked with moms and babies at all would be required to certify as lactation consultants too, but that’s a different soap box).
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lilmrsmchenry Reply:
January 18th, 2012 at 6:30 pm (Quote)
While in a perfect world I would absolutely agree with your last paragraph. On the other hand, it seems that some of the nurses seen on this site have major personality flaws that I would never wish for a laboring woman to have to deal with from their support person. Can you imagine having to fight to keep your support person from sabotaging one of the most memorable days of your life?
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This one was mine. My sister in law just graduated nursing school (at the time was in it but still has these views), and she thinks she knows everything about the world. A mutual friend of ours (I had already had my baby), mentioned she wanted to have her baby naturally. My SIL (along with other *precious* quotes) pulled out this *well-informed* statement. I told our friend how I wish I had went all the way (I dilated to 9cm and chickened out) and had my baby naturally and that birth so a wonderful, challenging, life-changing event that needs to be experienced and not just tolerated. My SIL insisted I was an idiot and didn’t know what I was talking about. She hurt my feelings greatly. But I feel I did the best thing for our friend. My SIL is young and has no idea. She has never even been pregnant and says she doesn’t want to breastfeed and not even pump. She still says she is just going to buy formula but that’s her prerogative. Our friend just gave birth to her little boy, all natural with her husband and mid-wife by her sides. Both mother and baby are doing amazing and she said she wouldn’t have changed a thing about it.
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Tee Reply:
January 17th, 2012 at 8:12 pm (Quote)
Oh, Diana, that’s horrible! I am so sorry that your sister in law has such a poor attitude towards pregnancy/childbirth/nursing. Scary to think that this is the kind of person that is suppose to be caring for people. I’m glad that your friend was able to have her natural birth and had a supportive husband and midwife!
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Laura Reply:
January 18th, 2012 at 11:22 am (Quote)
Oh man. I’m glad you were there for your friend but I’m sorry your sister-in-law doesn’t get it.
Certainly she can feel that way for herself, but to try to push it on others, besides…urk.
I had an epidural during transition with my first, I was basically pushed into it by panic statements from the nurses (they KEPT asking and then started the “anesthesiologist will be in a c-section so you’d better get it now” and got me). I did not have an epidural with my second. So SO glad I did not in my case! I know they are indispensible for others, and with my first it may even have been the best thing (hard to know, since I can’t compare the same labor without), but I definitely didn’t need it with his little brother. It was so wonderful to be part of that, feel him come out, know I could do it. It hurt, but not as much as I’d thought it would by a long shot.
And recovery feels a lot easier when, you know, you can WALK after the delivery. Or even feel your legs. 
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“In a world of drugs” But I don’t want to live in a world of drugs. I want to live in a world of healthiness. Drugs are only good when the benefits outweigh the risks. If you are going to ignore the fact that there even are risks then I might just have to contact your advisor. (And don’t think I wouldn’t do it.)
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Listen, when I had my hysterectomy and my cervical diskectomy, I wanted drugs for pain…desperately (esp. with the hyst–ouch). Because it was MY pain and the side effects would only pose a risk to ME.
But when I was in labor and delivery, I had someone else to think about, DS. And UNLESS it was absolutely necessary, as in a medically indicated c-section where I needed a spinal, I did not want him to have drugs. Period. That’s why in this ‘world of drugs’ I did not get an epidural.
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My OB said something very similar to me when I shared my desire for drug free birth. Thankfully I delivered my baby girl without any!
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