Is it necessary that the laboring woman be given (and go through) an entire bag of IV fluids and have blood taken with results returned before the hospital will administer an epidural?
I ended up with pre-eclampsia with my twins and when they finally induced me (after they stopped it 4 other times) they told me that once I was dialated to a 4 that I could get my epideral, no blood work, no having to go through an IV bag.
I'm pretty sure they won't give you the epidural without having the IV bag. I don't remember the bloodwork though. When I had my last baby my water broke at home. I walked in at 9 cm and my daughter was born within 45 minutes. They tried to give me the IV bag, but couldn't get it through fast enough so I ended up missing the epidural. It all happened so fast that I don't remember if they took blood during that process. I'm postitive they told me I HAD to have a full IV bag before they would give the epidural...no exceptions.
The bag of IV fluids is to hydrate you. When they give medication you will vasodialate your blood vessels. If you are not well hydrated your blood pressure will drop. This can harm the baby. So yes you need the bag of fluids. I can't remember which blood work is done. I think a CBC is standard. If they are worried about your blood pressure, then liver function tests are also drawn. Good luck!
Yes, without the fluids, your blood pressure can drop from the epidural. And the blood test, checks for something, to make sure they can give you an epidural. You can always go epidural free.
Good luck.
The CBC is just a standard protocol for YOUR hospital. That they do not need in order to administer the epidural; but if it is a part of their protocol and procedure; you may not be able to refuse it as they have the protocol in place for a reason. They may tell you, if you refuse the "blood work" then that is refusing the epidural. I have no idea what they "have to" check for before administering an epidural. Your hgb and blood type should have been pulled in the clinic/office.
As far as the "IV fluids"..... YES YES YES, you need to get them on board. You have to have IV access anyway; just in case something goes wrong; so that I really do not see what the big deal is. You need about 750 ml of fluid for the "average" lady; so using the term "whole bag" is just standard. If you are retaining fluid as one poster has said, has nothing to do with how much fluid you need; as the fluid that is making someone swollen is in the tissues and does nothing! Now do those women get less fluid; the answer is "yes" but that is because they are usually having blood pressure of perfussion issues already and we do not want to stress the body any more, by placing more fluid for the body to try to send in the right place. Since their bodies already are not working correctly, we rather fix their blood pressure with a drug than stress the body even more. The fluid is necessary bcause when the epidural goes in; it relaxes all of your muscles as well as vasodilate your blood vessels. Whn this happens your blood pressure drops and the "extra" fluids on board keeps this drop in blood pressure from happening; especially so fast. When women get nauseated right after getting an epidural, it is because of this blood pressure drop. When the the mom's blood pressure drops, the baby goes into distress (you are cutting off their life line for goodness sake) and the heart beat drops really low and the baby becomes distressed. So not worth it at all.... If you are going to get a needle in your back, I do not think the other two pokes should be a big deal. I hope this has answered your questions. Good luck and congratulations on baby!
Yes, it normals. I can't remember exactly what levels they test, but I know platelets are one of them. It's to rule out an infection or bleeding risks.
Nope...I didn't when I had my son. I didn't get fluid until after 20 hrs and they put the epidural in at 14hrs so they could break my water.
I believe it is for the reasons others mentioned below, but after you deliver, request that it be stopped. With my first delivery, (which was less than 2 hours), they didn't stop the IV fluids. I was already retaining water, and by the time I got up to shower, my feet and legs were so swollen they felt like mushy pillows! It was so uncomfortable! Just ask them to stop it or take it out after your delivery and you should be fine. I did that with my 2nd and it worked great. Good luck!
I had an emergency c-section and had both bloodwork and an IV bag prior to the epidural.
In my case, I had HELLP syndrome, and some women have lower platelets in pregnancy. If they give you an epidural with your platelets below a certain number, you could be paralyzed and/or have permanent damage.
I had an emergency c-section and they did not have time to do any of that. It was 13 minutes from my exam til they got my dd out. So, no I don't think it is nec, but it might be hospital procedure if time permits.
I can understand the fluids, though. Getting dehydrated is the last thing you would need. I have also heard that nausea is a part of the laboring process so you aren't going to want to drink or eat anything that would help bring on vomiting. No clue about the blood results though. Good luck.
It is important to have an bag of fluid before your epidural. They neglected to give me that (after I'd already been in labor for over 24 hours) and I was completely dehydrated... my blood pressure dropped and so did babies. I barely escaped a C-Section. Lucky for me there was a shift change and my day nurse noticed they had forgotten to push fluids.
I don't know about the blood work.
J
Both times, I had blood drawn when I came into the hospital and they hooked up the IV fluids. I do not believe I went through an entire bag, though, before my epidural, but maybe I did. I know you must have the fluids, but not sure how much.
