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Nikki, I am in the same boat as you when it comes to needles, they pretty much make me pa__s out. However, I had the epidural given to me 3 times because they could not get it into my back and I don't remember it hurting at all. Once in, smooth sailing!!

I had a 13 hr labour without it only to end up with a section, whent hey put it in I felt NOTHING. it was total relief. I would never voluntarily go through labour without it. It is so great.

To me I made the pain out to be more than it really was being that I'm extremely afraid of any kind of needle, but it really wasn't that painful at all a little pitch here and a sting there and its all over within 10 to 15 minutes. I really think that its worth it compared to the pain of labor!!!!!

yes, i now they are painful

they gave me saditol (sp?) through my iv before my epidural so i did not feel a thing. And also epidurals do not wear off it is a constant flow of medicine. They may turn it down when you push so you can feel the urge to push. After you have experienced a real contraction you will no longer be scared of a little needle either! You will probably be begging for it lol.

I loved my epidural, except the fact that I didn't listen when they told me not to drink anything. I drank some water. They came in and told me that they were going to break my water. I puked and broke my own water. The baby was out 15 minutes later. I enjoyed ever minute of it. I want to do it again. 38 weeks now, just waiting. Already dialated to three. I cleaned my whole house yesterday, he is so low. I have been have contractions on and off all day, does that mean he is coming soon? Someone let me know!

i've heard that if you have a tatoo on your back then you can not get an epidural. is this true and where exactly is the area on your back, where the epidural is administered?

I haven't had one personally but it seems to be a trade-off. It likely involves pain with the needle going into your spine, but the trade is that you feel little or no pain during later contractions and while pushing the baby out. Some women say epidurals numb them totally and labor is a breeze (or it can make it mroe difficult pushing, since it numbs your natural urges), others say it only lessens the pain to make it manageable, or they have a certain part of their body, eg back or other "hot spot", that is immune to the epidural.

Add on: as some women have already pointed out, your contractions by that point will probably distract you from the pain of an epi., and another note; a friend of mine had an epi. and was glad of it, but the next week or so after delivery she was very tired and throwing up and dizzy from the after effects of it. Also in rare cases something can go wrong and you can be injured or even paralyzed, but it is very unlikely as long as you have a trained specialist to put it in.

i had the epidural and it only pinched going in not to bad but mine didnt work i had a c-section you can probably picture it after that i really dont trust the epidural anymore

If your in enough pain to need an epidural you wont even feel the needle it hurts but at that point you dont care

epidurals are painful, but so is giving birth. Once your there you'll be ok, it hurts but we all get through it. ; )

My epidural wasn't painful at all. I was scared to death to get it cause I hate needles as well. Just a word of advice...Don't look at the needle when she's prepping you for it. It only makes it worse. In my opinion, the IV they gave me when I first got there was much more painful than the epidural. As far as effectiveness, it was wonderful. You can still feel the pressure (which doesn't hurt), but you're able to relax and even nap some. Trust me, after a few hours of real labor, you'll be begging for the epidural and you won't care about the pain of the needle. Then after you get it, you miraculously feel better within minutes. Also, once it's in, you can't feel it. Good luck!

Didn't hurt me at all. It was only uncomfortable because I was trying to endure the contractions while they were injecting.

im 36 weeks pregant and i also had the same concerns of what the other nikki had,, i'm scared to death to get the epidural, but people tell me i might be sorry if i dont get one.

I am also a baby about needles in my back, so what I did when I had my daughter 2 years ago is, I had them give me a painkiller shot to make me "out of it" a tad, then had the epidural. So when my shot wore off the epidural was kicked in. This worked for me and I hope to use this same method again if I EVER deliver my son (currently 39 weeks and counting). Hope this helps.