Learn About Epidurals

Melanie Raposo: Hi! Everybody, I'm Melanie Raposo and welcome to the pregnancy show. On today's panel discussion the moms are talking about a vey widely debated topic, natural birth versus epidural and why you may be thinking that no pain is the easy way. It's important to be in informed about the risks involved and having an epidural. Let's hear what the moms had to say. Are do you think natural is better or yeah. Female Speaker: Definitely I will real natural childbirth advocate as well. The problem is that we I have it's become a normal. In our society now it's become normal to have an epidural. It's become normal to be induce into labor. So normal the people don't question in it anymore, and doctors so normal that they don't really tell women that there are side effects and there are some very serious risks with both epidural and inductions. Female Speaker 1: It's people women need to be involved a better choice that needed to be informed of the risks and it's not that we're looking -- anybody who needs to take the drugs. Melanie Raposo: Yeah. Female Speaker 1: You do what you need to do to be comply you just needed to be aware that It has risks-- Female Speaker: It's our own choice. Female Speaker 1: And have how consequences that you know there are studies that show has an affect on breastfeeding because the baby might be too sleepy or the mother. So there are risks so everything and as long as people are making inform choice that's I mean for me I didn't have an epidural the first time, purely because I'm absolutely terrified of needles. Melanie Raposo: Yeah. Female Speaker 1: So once that had the first one oh, I did it then it was ok with the second one, and I was said a homebirth so he can't have a homebirth and an epidural, but it's I think the main problem is to does that women have been convinced that we can't do it without an epidural. Female Speaker: Exactly. Female Speaker 1: That the only way to give birth is to be medicated and to have help and it's not true, and so that's the things that help is nice. Help is nice, I had help the last four minutes when my midwife finally arrived, but you know you are on your own till that.. Female Speaker 2: Everything that I found helpful, that's Female Speaker 3: Like I said the process will be took actually gave us to your choices for pain management like there epidural, there is laughing gas, and there is the masks which is. Female Speaker 2: Yeah, breathing. Female Speaker 3: Yeah, the breathing and for myself I tend to breathing and of course I screaming for drugs. Yes, we made a conduct you know nothing take any drugs epidural, has been okay you can do it, you can delivery thing. Female Speaker 2: Yeah. Female Speaker 3: And what I did was during the most in sense part of it, I took laughing gas. Female Speaker 2: Yeah. Melanie Raposo: Good. Female Speaker 3: Inhale and when the exhale is out of our system. Just, just think it could be wait for just a little buzz, it takes so -- Female Speaker 2: You make it so you're able to cope with being better. Female Speaker 3: Exactly, this helps so doesn't take a penile or anything away or -- Female Speaker 1: But I think a lot of people think oh, I'll get epidural and then I just won't feel it, but it's that's not that simple, I mean once you start intervening and it's on the natural process complications happen and when people epidurals it increases the risk that having this is area suction by 30% that's what -- say. Melanie Raposo: Really. Female Speaker: The pain is motivated. Female Speaker 1: The pain is motivated. Female Speaker: The pain is so far a reason when you're in pain then you'll do everything you can do delivery your baby when you are not feeling anything you don't when you have an contraction, you don't how to Female Speaker 1: A lot of people don't understand what -- there is different kinds of pain. Like there is pain when you stretching at the gym and you go okay, I'm stretching and I'm stretching my muscles and it hurts, but you know you're doing something good for you body right. And there is pain -- fell down the stairs and cracked your arm or do think pain, which is bad pain. Female Speaker: Do you think I'm - Female Speaker 1: And it's not it's a good pain, it's a pain you know what it's there for there is reason for it's not like some weird shocking pain, you have and it's scary like you know what it there for it's and I can talk as because mine as natural. Female Speaker 2: That's one of the problem with the epidural is, it locks all pain sensation. Melanie Raposo: Yes. Female Speaker 2: So no warning pains either. Three of my four children where born by cesarean, all through the emergency. If you have an epidural when you are in labor one of the high risks after you had cesarean you have much higher risk of you -- when you are labor. If you then epidural you can't feel it, you cannot feel any warning pains that can become you body warning if something is going wrong.