Epidural Anesthesia for Labor - Is It a Good Choice for You?

All women know that with epidural anesthesia they will not feel severe pain during labor. However, it is important not to base your decision solely on this fact. It certainly helps to learn more about this method for pain reduction, how it works and how it feels and what its major pros and cons are.

The term epidural anesthesia is used to describe the administration of a numbing drug in the place around the spinal nerves in the lower back. The drug is injected by a medical professional trained especially for the purpose and called anesthesiologist. During the procedure the anesthesiologist uses a needle to place a catheter at your waist or below. The catheter is taped to your back and goes upwards to be taped at your shoulder as well. This allows for the administration of the numbing drug throughout the whole birthing process.

The medication administered with the epidural anesthesia will work to numb your body from the waist down. You will still feel all sensations but the sensation of pain will be considerably reduced. You will be able to move as well, even though your ability to push may be affected. You will be perfectly conscious and capable of taking decisions.

The amount of pain that you feel after the administering of the epidural anesthesia will depend on the amount of the numbing drug given to you. Just keep in mind that as the level of pain is reduced your ability to push strongly will be reduced as well. In general, you are the one who will work together with the doctors to have the dose adjusted properly.

The main benefits of the epidural injection include effective pain relief, control over the amount of the numbing drug introduced to your system and greater relaxation and rest during labor allowing you to gain more strength for pushing. Only an insignificantly small amount of the drug can reach your baby and it cannot cause any harm. If a c-section becomes necessary, the anesthesia will be administered more quickly and this will speed up the procedure lowering the risk of complications for you and the baby.

There are a number of side effects associated with epidural anesthesia during labor. These include low blood pressure and less common ones such as loss of sensation in the legs, fever during labor, facial itching and nausea and prolonged strong headache. When this pain relief method is used, the pushing stage of labor may become longer as the mother cannot push strongly enough. The chances of the labor process being slowed down are higher. In such cases, the doctor may have to use vacuum extraction of the baby or resort to forceps delivery. C-section is required in fewer of the cases.

Talk to your doctor to make a final decision on epidural anesthesia for labor.

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