As a grandmom-to-be I am wondering about epidurals. My DD thinks she would like one STAT when she enter the hospital. Now back in the day many took Lamaze classes and had the baby without drugs. I was one of those and am wondering about the safety both for Mom and baby. Thanks for any insight.

piney

I didn't want one, but I wound up getting one after I was in labor for 20 hours and felt like I just needed to rest. It relaxed me enough to the point I had my daughter an hour after I got the epidural. Without it, I probably would have had to have a C-Section. My daughter was 10 pounds 2 oz at birth and I didn't feel a thing.

I would not want to have a tooth pulled with out any meds.
Natural birth was not for me:)

As one who once taught LazMaze classes, I can tell you this is the way to go. Why suffer? It does not harm the baby and can allow the Mom to cooperate better.

I finally got one too with my 10lb 2 oz baby girl but still ended up with a section. She's a slim 5ft 9in blond beauty now at 24 :)

I had 2 and one natural. Epidurals are safer there are risk like anything but rest assured let her do what she needs to do. Why be in pain when you can actually enjoy giving birth.

My daughther had an epidural for all three of her children and got along fine. On her first child as one of the Drs. was giving it toher she was doubled over and trying to sit still and was in labor and the Dr. sort of barked at her to 'sit still" , as my hands were going for his throat my daughter gave me the LOOK-DON'T do it Mom, but we both survived her birthing! he he he

I had an epidural with my youngest child - 27 years ago. She was born via c-section. No problems with her or with me.

Had one with both of my kids.... did not really need it for either.

If she thinks she wants one, absolutely get one. I just recommend having an open mind and seeing if it is as bad as she thinks it will be

My DIL had babies both ways, one with and the 2nd one without. Now that she's due with #3 (got to get those kids another hobby) she says she doesn't want one again. She said she really didn't like not being able to feel her legs and having to have help with them the first time around.

I don't think they will do one STAT on her...she has to be dilated to a certain point before they do them or it could wear off before the baby is born.

Congrats.... I think its harder on us watching& waiting than it is on them.

I chose an epidural for my first one after 8 hours in labor and it was a good thing. I needed an emergency C-section and it took 5 minutes for the baby to come out from the moment the decision was made. If I had chosen not to have one they would have had to either knock me out of give me the epidural, wait for it to work, and then do the C-section. If I had not have it, I may not have a beautiful 23 year old daughter today. For my second one I asked for it the second I walked into the hospital and had an emergency c-section again. To me it was more of a preventive measure.

They say that there are too many c-sections done, but in my case I couldn't give birth naturally because of the shape of my bones. The third one was a c-section immediately.

Typically, you have to be dilated to a certain point before you are given one, it can stop your contractions.
Also, if you are too far along (dilated) when you get to the hospital, they may not give you one LOL if they think you are going to deliver fairly soon :roll: :D:D:D

She can get one safely but it won't be STAT lol
They won't give it to her until she's ready. That depends on dilation.
I loved having one. They gave me it when I had my second baby.
I could "see" the contractions on the monitor but didn't feel them :D

I wish that was always the case. With baby #2, I got the epidural and then they checked me. I was 9 1/2 cm dilated. I waited for 5 hours listening to the heart monitor ebb and flow with every contraction. It was the most nerve racking 5 hours of my life.

Sorry I am totally against them! I had 5 boys weighing up to 10bs 13 oz without and I do not remember much of labor~~I think they make newborns drowsy!! I just think natural is the way to go! Just my opinion.

I had one with each of my three. on my third the first dose wore off just as it was time to push. I felt everything but it wasn't too bad. the second dose kicked in right after birth in time for the stitching. if ihad another baby I would still get the epidural.

Child birth is a personal thing. Everyone's experience is different. Some women seem to shoot out babies without a thought. Some women suffer and need meds.

All you, as a Grandma, can do is trust the doctor your daughter picked to do the right thing.

According to my mother, it is much, much harder to watch your daughter go through pregnancy and child birth than to do it yourself.

I had natural childbirth --- if I were to do it again -- I'd have an epidural......and a Mai Tai.......and morphine........and and and............ :)

Dee, you crack me up! hahaha

I am torn about giving advice, after 4 overdue babies and being adament about natural delivery, but having to be induced with all 4, I will say this. If I had to be induced again ,I would have one hands down,if not I would try without it. My Dr. told me that induced labor is stronger and usually more painful.My first was after 3 days of on & off inducing, delivered 8 hrs later,second was at almost 8cm, third was almost two late and 4th one I finally decided that my body liked to stay pregnant and needed all the help it could get , so I got it at 3 cm and WOW what a difference, I told the tech to give me just enough to knock the pain , but that I could still feel, he nailed it. I was able to rest in between contractions and work when I had the contraction and could still feel a little, I got it all, that time; the mirror,one of the new beds with the hand holds in the bed center and was able to truthfully enjoy the whole birth process. That said I do believe that it makes the babies groggy because with my third where the epidural was almost to late , he was more alert and nursed stronger and longer compared to the others. Sorry so long and hope it helps. :-D

I like the Mai Tai idea! LoL! I had 6 kids and had all but the 2nd with an epidural. She was el'natural. I had no problems with any of it.

I don't like the thought of someone sticking a long needle into my spine!!! although i dont' remember my son's birth. heaven knows what they gave me. but it wasn't a spinal. I hadn't slept for a week due to labor pains. perhaps i fell asleep? Hmmm.

It is understandable that you are nervous, but it is your daughter's decision, not yours, so do be careful what you say. (This goes double on issues about breastfeeding!)

As for your own worries, there are upsides and downsides for everything but, in the vast majority of cases, epidural is very safe, and the knowledge that it is available is enormously reassuring to moms-to-be who have been frightened by Hollywood depictions of childbirth or other horror stories which people just cannot zip their lip about..

There is no real reason to worry because, if your daugher is contra-indicated for one, she won't get one, no matter how loudly she screams for one (I was that soldier). I have delivered with and without and I think it is a great thing that there is a choice for women. Some people suffer greatly in giving birth, some don't- she may not have one on the day, but it sounds like it is important to her to feel that one will be available, so I would advise you not to undermine that- she has very likely weighed up the pros and cons herself with her care providers before making her decision.

Enjoy your grandbaby.

totally against them too! had one.....22 years ago but it was terrible. In later years another doctor told me that from what i described they went further in than they should have and basically I had a spinal.....and was not kept laying down. I suffered for weeks afterwards with almost unbearable neck and back pain and a new baby. I had 4 more completely natural and they were a piece of cake. Complications with #6 required emergency c section and being knocked out.

they didnt do them, that i remember, when i hsd mine. when my girls had theirs i thought it was the whimpy way to go. a nurse set me strait, all 8 grndkds came with epi. why be in pain if it is not necessary. these days the delivery can b a very pleasant experience. so why not? it is completely up to mom. i just heard about birthing in water, sounds interesting.

Everyone has different levels of pain they can tolerate. My first I did with no drugs at all, my second I did with minimal drugs, and my third I had an epidural with. My experience wasn't that great. I had back labor and it doesn't help with that. So I want through the pain of getting the epidural and it didn't work like it could have.
A friend of mine had it(our babies were 6 weeks apart) and she just loved it. This was her 5th child...a little surprise baby, her youngest before that was 15.
Lol, and you'll have to inform her that she won't get one as soon as she walks into the hospital, that she has to be so far into labor before they will give it to her.
I wish her the best for a quick and painless labor. Hope you post baby pics. :)

There are so many variables - you just never know what might happen! We did the Lamaze classes; with our first, spent 18 hrs in labour then an epidural then a few hours later an c-section - under epidural - DH got to stay in the OR, first to hold our new baby boy. Next two were also long labours, epidurals and 'VBAC' (vaginal birth after cesearian) - with both of my girls, we were almost at the decision point to have to go cesearian again, they finally turned at the last minute and out they came!

Both the births for the girls - only one side 'took' - really bizarre having relief only on one side!

The best advice I'd offer - do your research, know what the options are, be prepared for anything!

Agreed. I had one two years ago when my daughter was born. They wouldn't give me one right away. They gave me injectable drugs first (against my better judgement.) When they did give me the epidural, it was great...except one little spot on my left side which was unaffected...so I still felt contractions there. This was good for when I started pushing..helped me know it was time to push. However, I too ended up have a C-section when the Doc decided my pelvis wasn't shaped right either. My daughter is almost two and the most beautiful little person on the planet! She'll be ok. It hurts, but she can take it! The Doc's won't let her go through unnecessary pain.
Congrats on impending Gramma-hood! Best wishes for Momma and Baby!

I think the best thing to do is leave the decision up to the mother and doctor and refrain from any negative statements like, "when I had mine I didn't need it" etc. New mom's have enough worries and things they will feel guilty about. They don't need to feel looked down on by others or to feel pressured into doing it the "right" way. There is no right way as everyone is different. I had 2 epidurals and I napped during labor and enjoyed my deliveries.

Whatever she wants to do is the right decision for her.
I was supposed to go in to be induced, and found out my DS was full breach. The decision was out of my hands at that point because the standard of care was C-section for breach deliveries. I'm just glad they found out before I spent a day in labour!
I firmly believe that no woman has the right to tell another how to give birth.(even if you're her mother and have strong opinions one way or another) OK, I'm off the soapbox now.

epidurals are drugs. i do not approve of giving drugs to babies, unborn or not unless there is a critical situation. they definitely are not necessary, as before they existed, nobody had them!

Hmmm, pretty strong point of view. I'm glad you had easy deliveries. But if we follow the "they used to....." theory, we'd also have to add " they used to lose mom's in delivery, they used to lose more babies at delivery, they used to have more birth defects from difficult labour, the fathers never got to watch (because they'd be in the parlour with their cigars) etc, etc, etc.
An epidural does not give drugs to the baby. It is a local anesthetic that affects the mom.
Giving the mother narcotics to dull the pain (shots) DOES affect the baby as they cross the placenta barrier.
The risks of epidurals now is a LOT less that even 15 years ago.
As another poster said - you wouldn't have a tooth pulled without anesthetic , would you ----- they used to!
Just because one mother can pop out babies without needing pain control does not give her the position to dictate other's needs.
Just sayin.

My Ddil had an epidural it paralyzed her legs but had no effect on on pains. It all depends so it is a personal decision. It may or may not help and they don;t usually give it until it is almost over anyway!

An epidural is a drug given to the mother, but it doesn't reach the baby. It stays in the spinal cavity and the baby doesn't get any of it. It doesn't save your life, but it saved the lives of both my first kids. Of course nobody had them before they existed...how could they? Scientific advances should not be put down. I am sure our grandmothers would have taken them if they were available.

Nothing wrong with an epidural. When I had my son four years ago I was told that I could have one at any point that I wanted it. I could have gotten it when I first walked in. I decided to wait until I thought I really wanted it. I was dilated to a 9 before I got mine. It didn't totally take away the pain but it definitely helped ease it. And it helped me relax. So when it was finally time to push I was ready and able. Less than 5 min of pushing and my son was here. The more mommy is relaxed the better it is. I say if she wants the epidural let her have it. Also the day I went in I was also told about all of my options and what the pros and cons are of everything. This wasn't the first time I had this explained either. This was an informed decision

I have a feeling this topic is going to get locked!!!
Let's not get too opinionated here!! Our experiences are as varied as our quilts and there is no right or wrong. :D

As one who until recently taught HypnoBirthing Childbirth Education classes, I am so surprised you feel this way! Labor does NOT have to be suffering. There are literally thousands of women who give birth pain free, including me and both my business partners. We are not freaks of nature, I assure you. Training and education can make a HUGE difference in ones perception and expectation.

Besides which, the drug used in an epidural is fentanyl, a narcotic that is also used as one of the "street drugs" our country is fighting the drug war against. As a narcotic it DOES cross the placenta and affect the baby, even if he appears to be okay in a few hours.

Most reputable hospitals and doctors do not recommend starting an epidural extremely early in labor because it can slow down the process, lower blood pressure, affect the baby's heart rate, and require the use of other drugs to correct the problems the narcotic caused. We call it the domino effect that leads to a c-section in labor.

Guess I'm still passionate about giving every baby the best chance at his start in life; it should no longer be about the mother at that point. Off my soap box now. Sorry.

Jan in VA

4 babies and no epiderals option at that time also spinal tap said no way did lamaze

I had two epidurals { Spinal Blocks} and the only thing the Doctor's told me at the time was that years down the road they could cause me to have Authritis of the spine trouble and he was right I do suffer from Arthritis of the spine, so bad I wished that I would have thought more about that advise
before taking the themback then :shock:

If she does decide to get an epidural, be sure that they give it 'soon enough but not too soon' (like I have any clue how to tell when that point is, LOL!). I do know that giving it as the baby is crowning, as happened with my first, is useless and led to my decision to try natural with the others. I did have a local for the snip and the stitches afterwards.
DD had said she wanted whatever drugs they would give her, but by the time she went to the hospital it was past time for them to be effective, so she ended up doing natural anyway. Thankfully DGS only weighed 6 lb 9oz.