I was put on the schedule to have my little boy two days later. Let me tell you, I bawled because I was so scared. I planned to get an epidural for pain relief, but wanted to experience at least a little bit of labor au natural before getting the good stuff, something my husband and doc supported. So my plan was to wait as long as I could before getting my epidural shot.
My stomach and thighs were numb, but my lower abdomen and vaginal area the important parts were not. To induce labor, the doctors started adding Pitocin a synthetic form of the body's own oxytocin hormone, which helps your uterus contract to my IV. Two hours later, intense contractions started. After three hours of contractions and five hours of labor, total , the nurses checked my cervix.
I was only four centimeters dilated! My contractions were about three minutes apart, each lasting for 45 seconds to one minute. That was really rough. I was done with the meds-free thing and ready for the epidural. While my mom, dad, and sister were in the room early on, it was only my husband who was with me when my contractions got intense. He would rub my back, put a cold towel on my forehead, and give me a little pep talk each time they hit.
When the medical team injected the epidural into my low back, it actually didn't hurt. I could, however, immediately feel a cold sensation running through my veins. It was a weird chill. Okay, now I'll start feeling better , I thought. I watched my contractions progressing on the monitor—they look like mountains or waves on the screen.
But I figured this was normal? I was a first-timer and had no real basis of comparison. I started shaking and vomiting from the agony. This next one is really painful. The anesthesiologist may have punctured the dura the tough lining surrounding the spinal cord , which can cause a whole other set of problems. Whatever happens, some mommies-to-be leave the delivery room with a horror story that makes them wonder if they'll ever have en epidural again, let alone another baby.
When mommy goes into the hospital, experiencing labor contractions, she may get to that point where she says, "Get me some relief, now! Labor is one of the hardest things a woman will ever do in her life. The contractions can become pretty intense.
It lasts for hours, if not days sorry to scare new mommies-to-be. When it comes time to push, again, this is one of the hardest forms of exercise ever! When mom decides that she's ready for an epidural, she wants her anesthesiologist to be skilled at finding the right spot on her spine to insert the needle. She wants said needle to be inserted correctly the first time. Finally, she wants sweet relief from the contractions—and she wants that relief to last. If the anesthesiologist is new or just not very good at placing epidurals correctly, mommy is going to hurt all throughout her labor.
Small wonder that so many mommies dread subsequent pregnancies. Sarah found this out the hard way when it took her doctor four tries to place the epidural correctly! Once it was placed, she still felt every single contraction.
Wiggling while receiving an epidural, even if mom is having a strong contraction, is verboten. This is why doctors and nurses caution mom to stay as still as she can, even if she feels a particularly strong contraction.
This is because her anesthesiologist has to find that tiny, little "sweet spot" on her spinal column. They do this literally by feeling the spaces in between the vertebrae of the spine. I'm there! Even a tiny movement affects the placement of the needle and catheter. It has to be pulled back out and placed again.
The thought! If the anesthesiologist somehow doesn't realize the catheter is in the wrong space or that it's punctured the dural space, mom is going to get a hellacious headache. Moms in labor, please stay as still as a statue. This way, the doctor only has to push that needle in one time.
If mom decides she wants to wait until she goes into the last stage of labor transition before receiving an epidural, this won't work. If she tries, she's going to be painfully disappointed. This is because, by the time she's in the transition phase of labor, she's experiencing the most intense contractions.
These contractions are intended to help open the cervix fully to 10 cm, which means she's ready to start pushing the baby down her vay-jay-jay and out of her body. Asking for an epidural too early sounds like the ideal recipe for labor: no pain at all! There's a catch to that plan as well. Epidurals only last between two and four hours, though the anesthesiologist can "top off" the medication.
This means that, if mom is looking at a ten-hour or longer labor, she's going to experience between six and eight hours of unmedicated labor. That is no fun. The anesthesiologist has to be able to locate the correct spot on mom's spine. If she is too obese, the doctor literally can't use the bony protrusions of the vertebrae to guide them. If mom is set on getting pain relief via an epidural, it just won't happen. This is why, before a woman decides to become pregnant, she should be at a healthy body weight.
It's not a good idea to embark on a weight-loss plan during pregnancy. The baby needs all the calories it can get. And mom needs the calories as well, because she's supporting a new life.
When the big day comes, while she's carrying additional weight from the extra fat stores, the baby itself, the placenta and even the amniotic fluid, she should be at a healthy weight.
In this way, her anesthesiologist can run their fingers down her spine, looking for the correct area in which to insert the needle and catheter. Correct placement is critical. If the needle and catheter are too high, the anesthetic won't affect the area where mom is feeling the contractions. We've all heard the nightmare stories about patients waking up from anesthesia. That's a painful nightmare to contemplate. Reasons for epidurals not working can include catheter placement, patient expectations and low pain thresholds.
Perhaps the last one could apply to me. But it was not the case that the epidural worked a little bit. What happened over the next few hours was bloody and excruciating—I cried and I screamed, and I begged my husband to make it stop. My daughter crowned for over an hour—each time my husband told me he could see her head and that it was almost over, her head disappeared again. It was emotionally draining to have my hopes continually dashed, and I felt progressively more defeated. After nearly 18 hours of labour, the doctor said she was going to use forceps and would need to do an episiotomy.
I was frankly terrified at the prospect, but also desperate to have the ordeal over with. In any case, I had no choice in the matter. The pain that followed was more severe than anything I had ever experienced, like my body was literally being ripped apart.
But it was thankfully quick. Finally, at 10 minutes before midnight, our perfect daughter came into this world. The next morning, I awoke and longed to see my girl, who was in the hospital nursery. Every movement brought more pain, but I was determined to get to my daughter.
I slowly put on slippers and a robe and inched down the hallway. At the door to the nursery I asked the nurse where my daughter was, and she pointed to one of the bassinets. I do wish I had known in advance that my epidural might not work.
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