Pregnancy: Second Trimester Community

I don't think I would've been able to give birth to my son without the epidural! The pain was HELL! Some people can do it and some can't! I absolutely plan to have one this time around as well. I am not interested in IV medicine... I believe it affects the newborn more.

Were you induced at all, or completely natural labor?

My pain was awful too, but I was induced first with cytotec, then pitocin so I had horrible strong contractions that finally got to the point of not having a break, they were just on top of each other with no pause. By the time I got to a 3 I was having adrenaline shakes and could barely hold still for the epidural.

I am curious to see what natural labor feels like. My BFF has had two all natural deliveries and she said the break between contractions is what got her through. I have a pretty high pain threshold, so I am curious to see if I could make when the contractions are natural levels.

Lurking from 1st Tri....EDD 10/18/12

From my two prior pregnancies there was a huge difference between being induced with pitocin and not. My water broke with both babies but with my 1st (DS) I was not progressing so they started my on pitocin and had it up pretty high. My contractions were so bad that I decided to get checked, I thought I was pretty far a long dilation wise but my OB said 3! I was like WOW! I got the EPI and everything was great after.

With my second baby (DD) my water broke 2 weeks early. My labor progressed quickly, no pitocin needed. I made it to 6 cm and figured I would get the EPI cause I was moving so quick. But I could have lastest a little longer.

For me the contractions were so much more manageable without pitocin. This time around I plan on having a EPI again. I have had great experiences with them so far. Hope this helps some!

My labor started on its own that Friday... picked up quite a bit on Saturday... and I was admitted Sunday morning at 3am with contractions 3-5 minutes apart. I went a good while on my own but the contractions wouldn't get closer so they gave me pitocin. I had my epidural prior to the pitocin. My epidural was controlled by me... I had my original dose at about 430am and hit the button once after because I could still feel pain. I could've used one more dose once I started getting close but decided not to. I wanted to ensure I could feel the contractions in order to push. I was just tired of pain! When I delivered oddly I only felt pain in my ribs when I had a contraction. I delivered at 1:20pm after 38 minutes of pushing!

Welcome Korin81!

I had an epi with my DS. I was 3 cm when I got to the hospital and wasn't really in any pain. They decided to start pitocin and wanted to do the epi first. I remember saying "but I'm not really in any pain yet." they did the epi and I delivered my DS without any pain. I will most likely end up with a c section this time but if not I will be getting the epi. My mindset is if you can deliver your baby comfortably and actually enjoy the experience why wouldn't you?

The reason your OB wants you to have a epidural for a VBAC is so that you have anesthesia in place in case you need an emergency C/S. A good compromise would be to have the epidural placed, but not medicated. That way you could have the natural labor you want with no medication but the epidural is there and can be dosed quickly if you need it.

Good luck!

With both my deliveries I didn't have the opportunity to get an epidural. I got to the hospital at 5 cm with my son but had to wait for the anesthesiologist to get there(i gave birth on a sunday afternoon). By the time he got there i was ready to deliver. With my daughter I was 7 cm then they broke my water, shortly after I was checked again and we talk pain management and i was 9 cm. I had no luck and labor with out drugs were no fun.

I'm in the same boat and hoping for a VBAC after a horrible induction experience ending in c-section. At my 16 week appt the Dr. brought up that they will be having a major discussion with me at 32 weeks about a VBAC attempt. I think he might be trying to talk me out of the attempt. I was lucky to fluke out and the only Dr in town that does epidurals was in the ER the day of my induction post pitocin so I got an epidural. There were two others in town that could do a spinal. The Dr. that finally did the section in the end said I had a section because I had an epidural. That made me mad. My DH has already suggested that I try to have a plan in place for an epidural because he thinks I won't be able to do do a VBAC without pain control. I was such a mess the first go around, I'm hoping if I go naturally that it will be different.

I'm not sure about the whole manditory epidural, but for me, I would take it It's not always an option for us out here in the sticks.

I agree with jet2135 that it's likely so that you have anesthesia in place just in case.

Sarah, I am in a similar boat. My "vbac friendly" doctor has a policy that she does a late u/s to determine how big the baby is. If she thinks the baby is too big, she will insist that I have a c-section. I've discussed with her the inaccuracies of the u/s on predicting weight and though she agrees, she still insists that since it's the only thing to go off of, she must use it. This combined with her insistence not to let me go more than a week past due and forcing me to have a flowing iv during labor have led me to start searching for another doctor. If I can't find one, I plan to put my foot down when it comes time to do so. You do not have to have an epidural. I would discuss with him his reasoning for it and then if you still don't feel like it's what you want, just handle it when you're in labor. They can say that it's time to get it and if you don't want it, you can refuse. What's he going to do at that point? It's your body and your decision.

This time around, I've hired a doula and I'm hoping that having her there will help me with pain management since I do not want an epidural. With DD1, I never got to the point of needing to decide on pain management since I never progressed past a 2. They did a spinal in the OR once they took me in for my c-section. Best of luck. I know how frustrating this situation is when all you want is to have a good labor and delivery experience and it seems like the people who are supposed to be helping you achieve that are instead working against you.

I had a regular, non induced, labor with my daughter, and my contractions got so intense so quick that I begged for the epidural. I loved it! I was actually able to relax and progress faster after getting it. It sounds as if your doctor wants you to have it since there is a greater chance of having to take emergency action in a VBAC. If you already have the epidural, they wouldn't have to take the extra time to do one if they needed to do surgery ASAP.

Wow, I had no idea they could place one and not medicate it. How do they know it's in all the way? I remember from my first the anesthisiologist kept asking me how it was feeling as he was getting it situated. I will definitely talk to my doctor about this at the next appointment.

I realize that they may have to do an emergency c-section, but it just seems to me that they could put a spinal in pretty quickly, or if it's a major emergency they could just knock me out under general anesthesia which takes a matter of seconds. Thinking about it, if worse comes to worse I would probably be better off asleep as that would be very stressful to have a rupture.

Thanks to everyone who has replied, great thoughts and information.

When they place the epidural catheter, they do what's called a 'test dose" and monitor your vital signs. That let's them know it's in the right place. Usually, then they go ahead and give the pain medicine through the catheter.

If it is a true emergency c/s, there is no time for a spinal. Sometimes that can take quite a while to place and then more time for it to kick in. You are right that they can put you to sleep, but that is always a last resort because the medicine they use for that goes to the baby and can effect his breathing ect at birth. Ideally, you would have an epidural catheter in place and if a c/s is called they would dose it and you would be ready to go. I worked as a labor and delivery nurse for 12 years and placing epidural catheters without dosing them right away is common practice. We do it routinely on women who know they will eventually want to use an epidural but aren't quite ready for it. That way we can get it done before the patient is in agony and while we know we have an anesthesiologist available. When the patient is ready for pain relief we (the nurse) just turn the medicine on.

Thank you so much for the information! I did an internet search too after your other comment and read about walking epidurals, which also sound awesome. I feel very prepared now to have an informed discussion with my OB in two weeks about my birth plan. Thank you so much!