For those who had an epidural

When I delivered DD, I had my epidural in while pushing. I was chatty and pain-free the entire time. I remember joking and watching Roseanne on tv during active labor. I didn't feel any pain until after delivery, when the epidural began to wear off (1-2 hours later).

I was talking with a pregnant friend yesterday, and she told me that her Ob doesn't allow patients to keep the epidural once they start pushing. Since I didn't have that experience, I didn't realize that different doctors handle this in varying ways.

Did you have the epidural while you were pushing or was yours stopped? I'm wondering how much of a say the patient has in this decision.

ETA: I was given the epidural when I was 3cm.

Message edited 3/20/2014 9:57:08 AM.

Re: For those who had an epidural

I had the epidural when I was 8/10 cm dilated before I started pushing. Once it was inserted, my water broke and the nurses stated I could start pushing anytime I was ready, so for the next 3 hours, I pushed and DD was finally born.

For those who had an epidural

I think I got my epidural around 4 cm. It had to be adjusted about 4 times throughout my 12 hour labor and had worn off by the last hour of pushing.
I have no idea if that was the "plan" or if my anesthesiologist just hated me :)

Re: For those who had an epidural

If someone is too numb during pushing, it will be ineffective & weak. There is a delicate balance between pain free & strong vs too numb.

SO, if they are too numb, the epidural medication infusion is stopped (it wears off slowly, like you said, in the time course of hours).

The epidural catheter is kept in case of emergency.

It's more a choice of the OB-GYN/nurse medical team & can differ by patient.

For those who had an epidural

Got mine at over 9cm. When I was ready push they shut off the epi. It wore off slowly but by the time she was crowning I could feel it.
Doc said they wanted me to be able to knowing I was pushing correctly.

For those who had an epidural

Mine wore off both times before I pushed. I got more after the birth each time for the stitching (which I found to be the worst part!).

Re: For those who had an epidural

i got my epidural at 5cm (when i arrived at the hospital) and they let me keep it through pushing
it was fantastic
i am hoping the same dr delivers me this time and it goes as smoothly as the last

For those who had an epidural

i got my epidural at 1cm, by the time it wore off i was fully dilated.

I got a local for stitching.

Re: For those who had an epidural

I had DD completely naturally, but I was induced with DS and had an epidural.

I had the epidural while I was pushing, and like you, I hardly felt a thing. It was wonderful.

For those who had an epidural

I had my epidural during all 6+hours of pushing. I had parts of my back that did not initially respond to the medication in the epidural and once i received different medication the doctors did not want to decrease the medication. I could feel very little pressure but the nurses told me when to push. I was able to push more effectively once I was out of excruciating pain. My daughter was face up and it made my labor (especially the pushing) very hard.

Re: For those who had an epidural

I got the epidural when I was 8 cm. I had it while I was pushing although I think it was tapered down. I can vividly recall the pain of being in labor with contractions but I have no recollection of experiencing pain during pushing or the delivery so that makes me believe that I was still feeling the glorious effects of the meds and/or I was so distracted I didn't notice. But I also remember while he was stitching me I said "ow" at one point and he said "you can feel that?!" and directed that I get meds but I don't remember if it was an injection or if it came through the epidural. It's amazing how much bad you can suppress when you are so elated to have that little bundle of joy finally out of you!

Message edited 3/20/2014 11:02:36 AM.

For those who had an epidural

I had a very fast labor. My water broke at like 4am when I was asleep!, I was in the hospital by 530am and had DS around 9am.
When i got to the hospital i was already 4cm... anesthesiologist took forever and I didnt get it until around 8-9cm. Five mins later I was pushing. I think the med they gave me was light bc i could still feel the contractions enough to know when to push on my own. I only pushed for 30 mins. Like pp said, the stitching was the worst part. They gave me a local.

For those who had an epidural

I was 3cm when I got it and I also got a little button I could push if it was starting to wear off. I slept for about 4 hours and when I woke up, they checked me and I was fully dilated. They took away the button but even then I only regained a little feeling on my left side, enough to feel a contraction and to push but as far as feeling anything else, I was still numb. No "ring of fire" or anything like that. It was pretty great lol. I got the button back before they started stitching me up.

Re: For those who had an epidural

Turned it off for pushing. But it also never fully took. I felt everything.

It wasn't fun.

For those who had an epidural

I tried to push while it was on, but it wasn't working. My doc thought I would push more effectively if I could really feel the contractions, so they turned it off. And they also gave me something to strengthen the contractions, but I'm not sure what that was.

For those who had an epidural

It was on entire time, through the dr stitching me up. Never felt any pain

For those who had an epidural

I had mine the entire time and she even told me make sure you use your epidural if you want. You can continue to use it and even asked me before I got stitched.

For those who had an epidural

I had the epidural in the entire time with both boys.

For DS 1 - he was positioned in a way though that it stopped working about 2 hrs before he was born. I was in pain for a little over an hour and a half before I started pushing. For DS 2 - I felt nothing.

For those who had an epidural

I had the button and probably pushed it a little too much! I felt nothing after it was started and pushed the button constantly bc the doctor was busy with emergencies so I had to wait a long time and they told me the more relaxed I was the more the baby would drop and less I'd have to push. In hindsight I probably should have done less bc I couldn't feel the contractions so pushing wasn't effective. I had to let it wear off and ended up feeling everything after that. I should have started pushing the button again after delivery but didn't think about it and felt all the stitching too.

Re: For those who had an epidural

Mine just wore off when it was time to push.
And they wouldn't top it off.
I felt everything...pushing, crowning, tearing.
It was less than an hour of pushing, thank God, but it was pretty horrendous.

Re: For those who had an epidural

Re: For those who had an epidural

I got my epidural when I was 4cm. I got tapped off a few times but when I was fully dilated and about to push they wouldn't tap me off.

Wasn't bad. Just felt the pressure.

Re: For those who had an epidural

Re: For those who had an epidural

I actually have no idea! I think they stopped it before I pushed. I got it at about 4 cm until close to the end.

Re: For those who had an epidural