Originally Posted by mommaB
A "spinal" and an "epidural" are not the same!!! I would not have a spinal, as I think this is injected through the spinal covering, while epidual just go into the space next to the nerve..someone with more medical knowledge than me can explain it!! I know severe headaches may result from spinals as well as other dangerous complications. I had 2 c-sections and 2 epidurals and hours and hours of labor before hand. Its a really personal decision, but there's no need to fear an epidural. Thay can turn a very negative experince into something very joyful. It all depends on the person having the baby!!
The spinal canal is covered by 3 layers, called the meninges. The arachnoid, the Dural and the epidural. (Sorry if I misspelled). A spinal block puts the anesthetics directly into the spinal canal after the needle has gone through all 3 meninges. The epidural puts the anesthetic in the epidural space before it reaches the canal, in the epidural space. The difference here is minimal, but the epidural goes not as deep. In any event, at the lumbar level the spinal cord is almost finished.