Drugs during childbirth?
By tdl617
@tdl617 (34)
United States
July 19, 2007 10:19pm CST
What do people think of using pain killers in childbirth? I had my first child at eighteen and knew nothing on the delivery process. I had been in the hospital a few hours when a nurse came in and asked if I needed anything for the pain. Before hand I thought I wouldn't need anyhing, but a few hours later I was ready and willing. She gave me a few options and I decided on the epidural. It was great through the delivery. I only felt stomach cramps.
After I got home with my brand new baby boy I felt horrible. I was not able to do anything but lay in bed. I tried to breastfeed but I wasnt able to sit up for five minutes without getting an exteremly bad headache. I didnt eat for three days. My mother took care and slept with my baby because i couldnt walk. I went for three days without peeing.
I finally went to the emergency room, throwing up the whole way there. Well I sat for four hours in the waiting room and couldnt sit any longer. I went back the next day and my dad made them take me back instantly. They ended up doing a "blood patch". They took a huge tube of blood from my arm and stuck it into my back, the same spot the epidural was. It turned out the epidural has caused fluid to drip from my spine.
With my second child I went nearly thirty hours with not so much as an iv of pain medicine.
5 people like this
14 responses
@_hope_ (3902)
• Australia
20 Jul 07
I know of a few people who have had problems from epidurals ,Im afraid i would never have one even the thought of something being placed in my spine makes me feel ill .
I have had five children and i thank god that the longest labour was indeed only seven hours ,i only spent three hours at the hospital before i was ready to deliver .With each of my deliveries i only used pethedine and gas that was enough for me .
The pethedine made my cervix dilate rapidly so it was really quick.The only draw back was it made me vomit a few times after everythink was over ,there were no other effects and all was ok .
2 people like this
@_hope_ (3902)
• Australia
20 Jul 07
Well to be honest i really feel cheated i actually wanted six children but due to complications after my las baby i ended up having to have a hysterectomy so then no more children by me .So then the next best thing was to look after other peoples children and thats what i have been doing for years some long term and some only a couple of days but in all over the past 26yrs there have been over 300 children in my home ( thank god not at the same time ) .I get so much joy from having children around and to know they are safe and well cared for .Children are our future
2 people like this
@liquorice (3887)
•
5 May 08
Wow hope, that's such and amazing thing to open your home and care for all of those children. I'm sure you've made such a positive difference to their lives, I'm really in awe of you!
@Feona1962 (7526)
• United States
20 Jul 07
Wow! I was 20 when my daughter was born and I didn't have any medicine, not even an IV. For my son, I had to have an Emergency C-section because he would not come out. He was 11 lbs. 4 oz. and 3 weeks early. I have never had an epidural. My daughter did and it made her itch all over. I did have a spinal block for my hysterectomy and that went well. I don't think they are the same, but I may be wrong. They still put it in your spine so it would have to be similar.
@mkirby624 (1598)
• United States
20 Jul 07
With the spinal you aren't ALLOWED to move for a certain amount of time afterwards. With an epidural, you can sit up afterwards, but your bottom half is just numb
@Feona1962 (7526)
• United States
20 Jul 07
I wasn't moving for a while after, I couldn't feel anything for a few hours. I could hear the leg things filling with air but I couldn't feel them. thank you.
@Buttercup11 (274)
• Canada
5 May 08
Hmmm... I see your post was a long time ago, but just in case you weren't pregnant, caesareans are not non-invasive procedures, they are MAJOR SURGERY and you feel much pain for at least 6 weeks after. Recovery from a natural birth is almost always much easier and faster. Good luck!
@vicki2876 (5636)
• Canada
20 Jul 07
I was 19 when I had my first and took the epidural. It worked great but yes the side effects after were bad. My second child I thought I would do it again well I felt everything and still had all the side effects after. My third child I didn't take anything (if it is still going to hurt forget it!)and I was fine. I still get pains in my lower back now and the kids can see a hole back there right where I say it hurts. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. I was in labor with my first for 18 hours my 2nd for 4 hours and third for 50 minutes. That really isn't that long to go through pain. Yes VERY BAD PAIN! But it doesn't last forever. Now I will have a lifetime of back pain from the epidural.
1 person likes this
@tdl617 (34)
• United States
20 Jul 07
I have experienced long term problems as well. I constantly have back pain and headaches. Sometimes I just barely notice it but the pain is there 24/7. I can only assume its from the epidural because I never had any trouble before it. I also fractured my tailbone delivering my first child.
1 person likes this
@d_hapke (165)
• United States
20 Jul 07
I wish I had the nerve to not have any meds. With no. 1 and I had an epidural with no side effects. No. 2 same thing plush Nubain. Both were 9 1/2 pounds. My last one I had to do a c-section under general because of my back condition. (they thought it was sciatica, turned out to be a tumor in my spine!) Anyway, maybe in four years or so we can have another, and I want to try it all natural. I think they offer meds to quickly anyway! I do understand controlling pain to have an easier delivery on the physicians part though.
2 people like this
@starr4all (2863)
•
12 Feb 08
I'm so sorry you had such a bad experience. Maybe I'm fortunate but with all three of my sons I had an epidural and no problems with any of them. And I don't know of anyone who has had problems.
@coferbox (298)
• United States
20 Jul 07
I don't think epidurals are wonderful as some doctors would have you believe. I had natural childbirth with my daughter and glad I did. My daughter just had a baby and while she didn't have an epidural she did receive some other pain medication by an IV. It didn't block the pain totally like an epidural would have but it did greatly decrease it to the point that she was able to do breathing exercises and other methods to help her stay in control. When the baby was actually born I was so proud of her she was such a trooper with staying calm and following the doctors instructions. The doctor said later that he had seen women in their thirties with several children that didn't do as well during delivery as my daughter and she was barely twenty years old with her first baby. I believe you should take steps to make yourself as comfortable as possible but an epidural isn't the best choices for everyone. It is best to educate yourself ahead of time as to what you options are because when you are in pain is not really the best time to be making a decision.
1 person likes this
@Cassy1976 (796)
• Australia
20 Jul 07
Your experience doesnt sound good, when I had my daughter I was quite open to having painkillers, I have heard of so many people going in and saying that they didnt want them and then getting in there and changing their mind as the experience wasalot more painful than they had thought it would be, but I only ended up having the gas and I did have some pethadine but they gave it to me too late and it did not kick in until after my daughter was born. I am happy that I didnt have an epidural while giving birth after watching a few things on tv on how they do them I often wonder how they manage to get the person to lie still when in labour for long enough to get it in, they battled to get the pethadine into me because I couldnt sit still
1 person likes this
@xkristalx (230)
• United States
20 Jul 07
I had an epidural, and I had no problems with it, but I have heard that some women have. I would not have another child without a painkiller though. There is NO way. I didn't know there where other options though. What was in your IV. Do you recall what the other options are?
1 person likes this
@Pizza4u (45)
• United States
21 Jul 07
Unfortunately, an epidural or any other type of invasive procedure can cause complications. Remember when the nurse came in and pushed down on your boggy belly and you thought she was going to kill you - ouch! When my sister delivered her baby, her boggy belly was pushed sufficiently and she ended up having to go into the ER because she was hemorrhaging. I personally had 3 deliveries without meds and my last was be c-section due to a breech delivery - now I have a bum on my belly - LOL.
@HereLiesSlobe (71)
• Canada
20 Jul 07
I don't think that its healthy, physically or emotionally, for a child to be born to a mother who is on painkillers. Childbirth is not SUPPOSED to be painless...obviously it is going to hurt. You're giving birth! People lived without it for quite a long time before painkillers were invented, so I don't think that people these days should cop out of the natural birthing experience.
Like in your case, it turned out to have a bad medical effect on you...I don't think its a safe practice for either the mother or the baby. I think that a natural birth would probably be a lot better and emotionally fulfilling for both the mother and child.
1 person likes this
@tattooedcrafter (79)
• United States
30 Jul 07
I was really lucky and was only in labor for 3 1/2 hours and I had a little bit of pain medicine because I'm not very good at dealing with pain, it really didn't kick in until after I had my son.
@flashjet (54)
• Pakistan
30 Jul 07
Epidural anesthesia when administered by a skilled anesthetist is remarkable safe. Though the discomfort you suffered afterwards was due to not following the correct procedure during anesthesia recovery.
Your recovery should have been under the supervision of your health care providers and your discharge from the hospital should have been delayed until you have completely recovered. I am surprised to find out you were not even instructed about the proper resting body position required during recovery. It is irresponsible on part of your health care providers to place the blame on fluid dripping from your spine after the lumbar puncture. Besides it is complete balderdash.
