Everyone has a different opinion on pain management, whether it be to help ease/stop pain of a minor headache, migraine, recovering from surgery, labor and delivery or an insect bite! For some reason, the management of pain during labor and delivery has become a moral issue, one that women should feel ashamed/guilty of, instead of one of many decisions made by the woman and her health care provider(s) during this new, terrifying and exciting time!
According to the Mayo Clinic, the research on effects of epidurals and newborn health is "ambiguous", because there are so many different factors that differ from woman and baby...to woman and baby...including mom's and baby's prior health, length of labor, length of delivery, dosage of medication, type of epidural, etc.
There are many different types of medication that are put into the epidurals, including anesthesias and narcotics, that it's probably best to talk with your health care provider(s) about the actual substances they are putting into the epidural.
Everything I've read & researched has come to the same conclusions: epidurals themselves do not harm the baby (long-term), but there are side effects (short-term) including slowed heart rate, breathing rate, lethargy and trouble latching. These "side effects" resolve themselves.
There are pros and cons to every situation, whether the soon-to-be mom chooses to use medication or not to ease/stop pain.
Personally, I was prepared to take pain management drugs during my labor & delivery, but was not able to. I wanted to go as long as possible without any drugs, but once you are in that situation, your prehistoric self comes alive and you might be begging for anything to help with the pain, regardless of your prior plan! I delivered too quick to receive any drugs, but was yelling at my hubby to poke me as hard as he could in my lower back with his thumb...I don't remember this, but I guess it provided some counter-pressure (counter-pain?!). (okay...that might just be me?!).
My advice: research the drugs that your doctor would use in the epidural (MedlinePlus is best for this: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginformation.html), talk to other women (like you are!), and choose a few pain management strategies that you're open to. You may not even want/need them, but at least they're in your repertoire of possibilities! Plus, if you are unable to deliver vaginally, it's best to know the alternatives, because you WILL need drugs if you have a C-section or need to be induced, so it's best to know the options and feel good about your choices. All drugs have positive and negative side effects, and the degree of these depends on prior health history, dosage, length of time, etc.
Anyways, what are your pros/cons to epidurals or other pain medication during your labor and delivery?
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Everyone has a different opinion on pain management, whether it be to help ease/stop pain of a minor headache, migraine, recovering from surgery, labor and delivery or an insect bite! For some reason, the management of pain during labor and delivery has become a moral issue, one that women should feel ashamed/guilty of, instead of one of many decisions made by the woman and her health care provider(s) during this new, terrifying and exciting time!
According to the Mayo Clinic, the research on effects of epidurals and newborn health is "ambiguous", because there are so many different factors that differ from woman and baby...to woman and baby...including mom's and baby's prior health, length of labor, length of delivery, dosage of medication, type of epidural, etc.
There are many different types of medication that are put into the epidurals, including anesthesias and narcotics, that it's probably best to talk with your health care provider(s) about the actual substances they are putting into the epidural.
Everything I've read & researched has come to the same conclusions: epidurals themselves do not harm the baby (long-term), but there are side effects (short-term) including slowed heart rate, breathing rate, lethargy and trouble latching. These "side effects" resolve themselves.
There are pros and cons to every situation, whether the soon-to-be mom chooses to use medication or not to ease/stop pain.
Personally, I was prepared to take pain management drugs during my labor & delivery, but was not able to. I wanted to go as long as possible without any drugs, but once you are in that situation, your prehistoric self comes alive and you might be begging for anything to help with the pain, regardless of your prior plan! I delivered too quick to receive any drugs, but was yelling at my hubby to poke me as hard as he could in my lower back with his thumb...I don't remember this, but I guess it provided some counter-pressure (counter-pain?!). (okay...that might just be me?!).
My advice: research the drugs that your doctor would use in the epidural (MedlinePlus is best for this: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginformation.html), talk to other women (like you are!), and choose a few pain management strategies that you're open to. You may not even want/need them, but at least they're in your repertoire of possibilities! Plus, if you are unable to deliver vaginally, it's best to know the alternatives, because you WILL need drugs if you have a C-section or need to be induced, so it's best to know the options and feel good about your choices. All drugs have positive and negative side effects, and the degree of these depends on prior health history, dosage, length of time, etc.
Anyways, what are your pros/cons to epidurals or other pain medication during your labor and delivery?
April 26, 2008 - 2:26pmThis Comment
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