While epidurals are generally safe, reasons not to get one often center on avoiding potential side effects like low blood pressure, leg numbness/weakness, inability to move, needing a catheter, or a severe headache, and concerns about rare but serious risks like infection or nerve damage, plus the desire for a more mobile or "natural" birth experience where one can feel contractions and push more effectively. Some people also worry about potential effects on the baby, such as drowsiness or latching issues, though these are often temporary.
Epidurals, like any pain medication, come with side effects – which is what most people worry about when they're making their decision. Epidurals are generally considered safe and complications are uncommon, but some individuals may experience things like headaches or nausea.
There are also additional dangers that the proponents of epidural injections don't want you to know: weight gain, cataracts, auto immune disorders, infections, elevated blood sugar levels, damage to blood vessels, bleeding, dura puncture, nerve damage, paralysis, stroke and even the possibility of death.
Midwives are affected by the setting where they work, and research highlights that an epidural might lead to a focus on medical procedures instead of the normality of labour.
Of course, there are other, true, benefits to giving birth without epidural. Women who choose this option tend to have a shorter pushing time and less vaginal tearing. The recovery after birth doesn't last as long, and there is a decreased risk of needing more serious interventions.
Not everyone is a candidate
Women who have bleeding disorders should not have epidurals, due to the risk of hematoma. This includes clotting, platelet or other blood-related issues. Some blood thinning medications may also interfere, depending on when the last dose was taken.
While epidurals are great for pain management, there are some risks associated with the procedure. In some cases, an epidural may not give you enough pain relief. In other instances, epidurals can cause a drop in your blood pressure, slowing your baby's heart rate.
Some people describe the feeling as being like intense period cramps, others say it feels like a tightening or pounding feeling in your uterus or across your belly, others describe the feeling as being like very intense muscle cramps, while still other people describe contractions as being like the sort of wrenching ...
The 5-5-5 rule is a guideline for what kind of help a postpartum mom needs: five days in bed, five days round the bed — meaning minimal walking around — the next five days around the home. This practice will help you prioritize rest and recovery while gradually increasing activity.
If you don't think you want an epidural, there are other options available that can reduce your pain. Medicated options like a pudendal nerve block or acetaminophen may be helpful if you don't like the idea of an epidural. Or you can look into medication-free methods, like a birthing class.
That doesn't mean epidurals are completely without risk. Nerve damage, one of the most serious complications, is rare—happening in fewer than 1% of cases—but when problems do occur, they can lead to lasting or even life-threatening harm.
Vaginal delivery
It's the most preferred and most common way to deliver a baby because it carries the lowest risk (in most cases). A vaginal delivery occurs most often between weeks 37 and 42 of pregnancy. A vaginal delivery has three stages: labor, birth and delivering the placenta.
Providing a wide variety of pain coping and comfort measures including tubs, showers, unrestricted movement, and labor support helps women manage labor without needing an epidural.
Used by an estimated 70-75% of women who give birth, an epidural is the most common—and most effective—type of anesthetic for pain relief during labor. An epidural is a numbing medicine given by inserting a needle and a catheter (a small, flexible tube) into the lower part of a woman's back.
Epidural anesthesia changes your ability to make choices about your labor, can stop your natural labor and can severely affect your ability to push your baby out.
Benefits of giving birth without pain medication include: Being able to change positions on your own during labor, including when pushing. More positions are available if you do not have an epidural. Being able to spend time in water during labor or the birthing process.
Techniques like epidural and spinal anesthesia tend to have less impact on memory. But, if sedation is used with regional anesthesia, memory effects can vary. Less sedation means less memory loss after surgery.
Direct injury
This can occur if the epidural or spinal needle or the epidural catheter damages a single nerve, a group of nerves or the spinal cord. Contact with a nerve may cause 'pins and needles' or a brief shooting pain.
The meta-analysis of anxiety studies showed that no significant association between epidural analgesia and anxiety (MD = −1.36; 95% CI = −3.38 to 1.14; p-value = 0.29).
About 73% of U.S. women who give birth use an epidural for pain relief.
Epidural injections may not be possible in patients who have had previous spinal surgery, are very overweight, have severe infections, or who have defective blood clotting.