Pregnant women would look forward to a safe delivery when the suitable time has come. Normal delivery or vaginal delivery can be terrifying for most pregnant women especially those for the first time. Beside the feeling of anxiety and worries clouding their mind, labour pain can be very bothersome and may lead to difficult delivery. Before the childbirth process, some mothers may ask a doctor what they can do to help make birth easier. One of them is by receiving epidural anaesthesia. The question now is, is epidural used for normal delivery?
Before answering that, what exactly is an epidural? An epidural is a procedure of injecting anaesthesia into the space around the spinal nerves in the lower back. It is considered as a local anaesthesia and not the same as general anaesthesia since the effect of the epidural blocks pain by creating numbness around the belly button to the upper legs. This translates to a person is still awake and alert when epidural is given while feeling some degree of pressure from the labour. The pressure sensation is important for the mother to help them have the urge to push when giving birth.
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Epidural is certainly used for normal delivery. While epidural may be commonly associated with administration in labour, it is also used for certain surgical procedures involving lower body such as pelvis or the legs surgery. An epidural during the labour process involved insertion of a needle and a tiny tube known as the catheter in the lower back area. The needle is used to guide the catheter into the spaces around the spinal nerve before the needle is then removed and the catheter is left in place to administer the medication for pain relief. Epidural can be given either at the beginning, in the middle or before the end of a labour. Epidural can last as long as the mother needs it by either increasing or decreasing the dose of the medication. The whole process of epidural is done by an anaesthetist.
An epidural does provide a lot of benefits for the mother. This includes being the most effective methods for pain relief during delivery and childbirth with the possibility of minimal side effects. Epidurals also work very quickly by providing local anaesthesia effects within the first 15 minutes after the epidural is administered. By having less painful experience, a mother can feel much more rested and relaxed during the childbirth process. This is important for a positive and safe birth. An epidural does not only help mother during the delivery process but also has been proved in some studies to help decrease risk for postpartum depression (PPD) that can occur after a delivery and last for months.
Just as other procedures, with every benefit comes risks and possible side effects. Epidurals may cause blood pressure to drop suddenly. Sudden drop of blood pressure can be dangerous as it can jeopardise blood flow to the baby but this is often minimised by routine observation of the blood pressure by healthcare providers. Side effects such as shivering, fever, itchiness, soreness and back pain may occur. It is estimated that 1 percent of women may experience severe headaches. In some cases, epidural may cause women to have a difficult time to push the baby out and contractions may be less or slow down a little for a while.
In essence, epidural is the most common use of pain relief during normal delivery. In fact, 70% of women in labour do use an epidural. The decision of receiving epidural depends on many considerations which will be discussed by doctors and anaesthetists. A mother may receive other kinds of pain management if epidural is not suitable for them and this is normal.
