Pregnancy Info HOME

i was also worried bout that with my first pregnancy.i asked the doctor about the chances of being paralyzed and he said that it can happen but it is very very rare. he said that out of all the women that had had epidurals given at that hospital there had never been a case of a woman being paralyzed-and this is a very big hospital. i ended up having the epidural and was very happy with it, i felt no pain while pushing and although it only blocked the pain from the contractions on one side i was very comfortable and was even able to sleep. the down side for me though was just how horrible i felt after wards in regards to being very wobbly on my feet and pretty dizzy when i stood up.i gave birth to my second child without any painkillers and to be completely honest i prefered that totally.goodluck with what ever you decide to do and try not to stress out about it!-easier said than done i know.

from day 1 i had always wanted an epidural...i have a bunch of piercings and 2 tattoos and when i became prenant, i bacame a BIG BABY!! i couldnt stand having my blood taken or getting shots, and my pain tolerane went WAY DOWN!!! So i was always scared of getting one. But i had a planned c-section and when i got mine, it was really quick and once i had it, it was so much better. Just the side effects when i woke up...i itched really bad!! And my lower body was all tingly. But the itching was the worst. You can try to do it naturally and if its not working for you, you can ask for one:) GOOD LUCK

I wouldn't worry about being paralyzed. You got me curious so I was looking up the odds, they say it is somewhere between 1 and tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands. You have better odds of being killed in a car crash than being paralysed. Personally, when I go into labour (and omg am I terrified) I plan on doing whatever I feel I need at the moment. If I can do it on no meds, great. But if I need an epidural I am all there.

Hi there! I didn't want an epidural because I didn't want a needle. I had both my children natural with no epidural or pain medication. Both experiences were beautiful. I mean of course hurt but afterwards I had no tearing with either of them and I was up walking 10 minutes later. Think back years ago...women gave birth all the time without the aid of medication! However if you chose to have an epidural I would't worry too too much. The odds of anything happening are slim to none! Good luck. In the end you just need your healthy baby in your arms.

i had an epidural and it was amazing. those contracts get soooo painful, at first i was all like this is a peice of cake, but about 5 hours later i was singin a different tune!! there are side effects and risks, and i did experience some. I had a wet tap (doc missed and spinal fluid leaked out!) resulting in a spinal headache (worst thing ever!). you can either take tylenol 3 and feel totally drugged for up to a week, or get a blood patch. i opted for the blood patch, which is another epidural all over again, they take blood from your arm and patch it in where the wet tap occurred. I was pain free in about an hour!!! And despite all that I will have another one with my next child. it was great, i could still feel the contractions a little, i was pretty numb and got the shivers, but i was relaxed, and got rest. Its highly unlikely the same thing would even happen to you, but i thought i'd share so you can be informed.

I had a epid. actually had to have 3 and i'm fine. u will be sore for alittle bit but that is nothing compared tp the pain of the contractions i was in labor 26 hours and then an C-sect. i made it about 10 hours before i decided that the epid couldn't be worse then the pain.

I had an epidural with my second son. It didn't take though and I still had all the pain in my right side. It left a "window" that hurt extremely bad. It did relieve some pain though. As for the fear of being paralized, no one wants that and you know how people say things that they don't mean while in labor? Well when contractions got really bad and they were telling me the risks I actually said I would rather be paralized. If the one giving it knows what they are doing and you don't move you should be fine. You have to tell them every contraction when they are doing it so you won't flinch and mess them up. And as for the way it feels, it doesn't hurt at all when they do it. All I felt was the pressure from the needle. I think it gave out, though because I wasn't able to sleep through it. I wasn't wobbly after it either. Good luck in whatever you choose. Best wishes :)

I had an epidural while pregnant to because i had to have my apendix taken out when i was 10 weeks. I didnt like the epidural very well and the spot they put it in hurt really bad afterward for about a week. What i didnt really like about it was feeling numb like that it was just to weird so im going to try and have my son without an epidural but if i need it i will take it. Good luck

I didn't want and epidural for exactly the same reasons, and I'm scared of needles too, but after 20 hours of the most intense pain ever, I didn't care about the risks, or the needle! It was hard for them to get the needle in, because I had it late in my labor and found it hard to sit still, but once they got it working, it was heaven! I've never been so relieved about anything in my life, and would recommend the epidural to anyone.

Paralyzed her for how long? I've heard of some temporary minor numbness in the legs, but paralysis? That sounds like a stretching of the truth to me.

to Anna, I don't know how long she was paralyzed or to what extent....it was an article in the local paper and she was still in the hospital recovering from it at the time...

Has any body chosen nitrous or an IV drug when things got REALLY painful. Was it enough or did u all go straight for the epidural?

Anna, there is a risk of being permanently paralyzed. I did a little research to check, but it's like 1 in tens of thousands. You have a better chance of dying in a car crash. Not really something to worry about at all.