Low Dose Epidural?

Hey A. -
I had a natural childbirth the first time around and then I had an epidural the 2nd time. I have never heard of a "low dose" one. But, I just wanted to remind you that the birth of your 2nd child will be a LOT easier than the birth of your first - since your body has already been there, done that. So honestly, I don't think you need to worry about whether it is a low dose or a high dose. You will be thrilled at how much easier it is the 2nd time around!

-L.

I"m not sure if what I had six weeks ago on monday was a low dose epi or regular but it was awesome I highly recommend it! I had three natural births prior to this most recent one and feel really dumb not having had one all the other times =) I got it at a three and never felt pain it was great! Good luck!

I had my son 3.5 years ago and at a Presby hospital. I was aloud to tell them if I thought it was too mucn or not and they adjusted it for me {I just didn't want to be TOO numb for the delivery}. It went BEAUTIFULLY...well as pretty as it could ;) Good luck!!!!

Also...I am delivery our second son on Thursday!!! Have a restful weekend!

Come visit me at www.thewrightsofpassage.blogspot.com!

With my first two children, I had an intrathecal(sp?). It is given the same place as the epidural, but instead of a steady flow of drugs, it is one shot. The hospital that I was at did not have epidurals available. This might be another option for you, as well. I do not know if any of the hospitals still use them though. My two are 9 and 7.

Hi A.,

I had (not on purpose) a low dose epidural with my second child and found the delivery went much quicker. Having said that, it did hurt - alot, but I could handle it with help from my husband. The recovery time was also much quicker. I hope this helps. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

A. B

A.

Just thought you might want to check to make sure the low does epi is available at your hospital. Many hospitals do not even offer it and it is only considered "experimental" at many other hospitals, thus allowing insurance companies the right to not have to pay for it since it is elective and experimental!

Just a note for you to consider and check into before getting your hopes up and then being let down unexpectedly!

GOOD LUCK ON YOUR DELIVERY!!!!!!!!!
CONGRATS ON THE NEW ADDITION!

T.

It's worth having in my opinion. I have 4 beautiful healthy children...two of which i had the low-dose eppi. The difference is between the reg and low are huge. I was actually walking shortly after the delivery...where with the other eppi, it was dreadful!!

Wish you well

D. Jennings
Future Sales Director
MARY KAY
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I had a low dose epidural in January when my daughter was born. I definitely preferred it. I could feel aspects of the labor and delivery this time around, which I liked. It was cool to actually feel when my daughter was born. With my son's birth, I was completely numb and I did not like that at all... Good luck!!! Congrats. God bless you and your family!

A. it depends on where you are delivering. Some smaller hospitals do not offer this option. We read about so many things and have a hard time thinking it is our options and it turns out we are restricted by what is available at our facilities. So begin with your Dr and hospital. Most Harris, Presby hospitals and Baylor's offer the "continuous epidural", you can then request the lowest possible dose and then regulate how much extra you want according to how your labor progresses. My dil wanted to feel the tingling in her toes throughout and breathed through some of the contractions. Others want to have a more comfortable labor so use it more. A study of 6,000 women a few years ago found that there was no difference in the c/section rate and the length of labor was actually shorter when allowed to control thier epidural

First of all, congrads on the (soon to be 4 Year old!! Mine just turned 4 yesterday! :-) )

I had the low dose epidural, and loved it! I had started my labor at 10am on a saturday morning, contractions consistant at 15min apart lasting for about 15-30seconds. . . .we didnt go to the hospital until just after midnight when they hit 5 minutes apart for over an hour. (my husband is a fireman/paramedic, and we lived only minutes from the hospital, so we decided to do as much labor at home as possible) It was almost 4am (18 hours now of contractions) and they decided to give me patosin(sp?) to speed things up especialy since I had been steadily contracting for quite a while. That part sucked, and I could not breath between the contractions, and was seriously exahusted so I finaly decided to talk with the anesthesiologist becuase I had previously wanted to do a natural labor.

Though we had resurched all of our options before this, we still wanted to talk to him. He suggested "Staydol"(sp?) which he said was one of the few drugs that will NOT pass through the placenta to the baby, and it was wonderful.

I went ahead and got the Low dose epi after having the staydol and still contracting for quite a while, and LOVED IT!!! I could still move around, feel my legs, and my contractions, it just took the edge off of it all, and I could breath and relax between the contractions. It was a blessing that we decided to do the low dose because my son's head got stuck on my pelvis a few times while pushing, and I had to be able to move into other positions to see if we could get him unstuck. IF I had had the full epi, I would not have been able to do that, and would have had to of had a c-section. I was still in labor and pushing for quite a while, and the epi actualy wore off, so I was able to have a natural labor in the end, but the low dose epi was great to have because it took just enough of the edge off to allow me to be able to regain my energy and strength. (after contracting for so long durring the day and was exhausted. . . .my son was not born until 3:51pm on Sunday afternoon.. . . .that's 9 minutes shy of 30 hours.)

I would do it again in a heart beat, and if my husband and I are ever blessed with another child, I would do it again!

I loved still being able to have full control of my labor and be able to feel what was going on to fully experience bringing my son into the world. I was able to feel the contractions and feel that I was actualy pushing like I should and be an active part in the labor, but the sharp, stabbing, breath taking pains were not there.

Did it hurt?-Yes, I am not going to lie. There was still A LOT of pressure, and burning. At the very end of my labor when the epi wore off, it was more painfull, but not unbareable. It was NOT as if some one was riping me open or rippng me apart. But it was not comfortable either. Once he was here and the labor was over, all of the pain was gone for me. THe burning and pressure stopped and so did the contractions.

One of my best friends had a full epi and said that she could not feel any contractions at all, and never really experienced anything physicaly of bringing her daughter into the world, so I was thankfull that I could.

Good luck, I hope this helps you make your desission whether you choose one epi or the other. And congradulations on your new baby!

Be blessed!

p.s. Let us know how it all goes for you and your new baby!!

Congrats!!!
I haven't had any experiences with the low dose epidural, but I had a full dose epidural with both of my children. Perhaps it's just me, but I was up and walking with full feeling within the hour after delivering my daughter. I had the pressure but no pain. With my son, the full dose epidural lasted 30 minutes, then wore off and I had to deliver him in pain. So, to make a long story short, every person will have a different experience with the epidural. If you didn't like the full dose with your first, you might be a good candidate for low dose. Good luck to you!

Get the full dose, you will enjoy the delivery and the first moments of your baby's life much more if you are not in pain. You will be so much more available to your baby if you are not in pain.