Giving birth is meant to be a beautiful experience. But the prospect of giving birth is frequently associated with anxiety because one anticipates pain and discomfort to be associated with the processes.
Women choose to opt for one of either method associated:
- They may choose to receive epidurals, which is the medication for pain relief. This lets them have more comfortable labor. Find the best nerve specialist near me through this website and schedule an appointment.
- Women may alternately choose to give natural birth if they are apprehensive regarding the side effects involved with medicated births and epidurals.
It is preferable to discuss the options available with your child or midwife. The choices available may be unique for each case, what’s important is that the midwife is fully equipped with the right medical supplies needed for giving birth as well as the knowledge and experience in doing so.
Let us take a look at a few of the points that should be kept in mind:
When is an epidural administered?
By using an epidural, the pain that occurs in the lower part of the body decreases. Women may choose to consume one. There are cases wherein this is a medical necessity. This frequently becomes the case when medical complications are involved. One such case is that of Cesarean delivery (C-section).
An epidural will take 10 minutes to place. It will take another 10-15 minutes to work. An epidural is usually delivered through a tube, via the spine.
Benefits of an epidural
The most important benefit involved with the use of an epidural is that it increases the odds of a painless delivery. Even while a woman still feels the contractions, the pain involved reduces to a significant extent. When a vaginal delivery takes place, the mother is still aware of the delivery.
An epidural is alternately sometimes administered for cesarean delivery as well. It eases the pain involved when a baby is surgically removed from the womb.
In some cases, general anesthesia is also administered. The mother isn’t awake in these cases, while the delivery takes place.
Epidurals have been gaining significant popularity across the past couple of decades. From 1997 to 2008, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has reported a 72% increase in the incidence of cesarean deliveries.
A mother may choose to go for cesarean delivery by choice. They may alternately become a necessity when vaginal deliveries cannot be accomplished.
In certain cases, vaginal delivery after a cesarean section is possible. But it does not stand true for all cases.
A few of the risk factors are involved with epidural, even though they are typically rare. Let us take a look at these risk factors:
- Soreness and back pain
- Headaches
- Persistent bleeding at the puncture site
- Fever and difficulty in breathing
- Lowering of blood pressure, which can also slow down a baby’s heart rate
There are cases wherein mothers cannot feel each of the elements of delivery after being administered an epidural. This may give rise to a range of other problems, such as a higher risk of tearing during vaginal delivery.
A set of risks is involved with cesarean deliveries may be unlinked with an epidural. A C-section is surgery, unlike natural birth. Recovery times are correspondingly longer, and the risk of infection is involved as well.