It can be a beautiful experience to give birth but delivery labour is a painful and difficult task.
Even though most of us are aware that it can be a painful experience, there are numerous solutions available to help you control your pain during childbirth. An epidural is one of these pain-management strategies.
What is an epidural and are there any side effects of epidurals during delivery? Read on to find more!!
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What is an Epidural?
An epidural is a technique in which an anaesthetic or steroid is injected into the epidural space, the region surrounding your spinal nerves. An epidural technique aims to offer an area of your body, such as your legs or abdomen, with pain alleviation (analgesia) or a complete loss of feeling (anaesthesia).
Epidural anaesthesia, epidural steroid injection, regional anaesthesia are some of the other terms frequently used to refer to epidurals.
How does an epidural work?
A fluid-filled epidural area encases your spinal cord. Your spinal cord serves as a highway that connects your body’s many nerves to your brain.
Depending on where along your spine the epidural was injected, an epidural anaesthetic temporarily numbs the spinal nerves, which thus temporarily blocks pain signals in a particular area of your body. As a result of this, you feel temporary numbness or pain alleviation.
Epidural Side Effects
Only around 1 in 100 pregnant females who receive epidurals need additional painkillers during labour, proving how successful they are at numbing discomfort. An epidural still carries certain potential hazards and negative effects.
Epidurals side effects could include:
1- Lower Blood Pressure
A drop in blood pressure occurs in about 14% of women who receive an epidural block, although it’s typically not hazardous.
Epidural block impacts nerve cells that regulate blood vessel-based muscle contractions. This lowers blood pressure by relaxing the blood vessels. If your blood pressure falls too low, this may hamper blood flow to your baby.
Therefore, most women receive intravenous (IV) fluids prior to having an epidural to lower this risk. Throughout labour, your blood pressure will also be checked. In addition, if medication is required to fix it, your doctor will give you that also.
Get to know more about low blood pressure treatment at home.
2- Itching
Itching is a typical side effect of opioid medication use present in epidurals. This condition may be alleviated by changing medications. Additionally, your doctor might prescribe you medicine to treat the itching.
3- Problems With Urination
Because an epidural affects the nerves, it’s possible that after getting one you won’t be able to feel when your bladder is full. Therefore, to drain out the urine your bladder may be inserted with a catheter. However, when the effects of the epidural wear off, your bladder control will return to normal.
4- Back Soreness
Back soreness is one of the other epidural side effects. However, due to the additional strain that your growing belly exerts on your back, back pain is also another frequent pregnancy side effect. Sometimes it can be difficult to determine whether the epidural or lingering strain from the extra weight of pregnancy is to blame for your ache.
5- Nausea, Vomiting, and Fever
Opioid painkillers may also make you feel sick causing nausea and vomiting. In addition, fever may also occur as one of the side effects of epidurals during delivery.
Moving next to the epidural side effects, some are rare. These include:
6- Breathing Problems
Sometimes, the drugs used in an epidural can slow down breathing or make you feel sleepy. This is something that will be closely watched for during your labour time and is easily treatable.
7- Headache
Rarely, epidural injection may pierce into the spinal cord’s protective barrier. This is called a dural puncture. This usually happens in 2% to 3% of cases and could lead to spinal fluid leakage, which would give rise to a headache.
8- Seizure
A seizure may occasionally result after an epidural if the anaesthetic enters your vein. Shaking or convulsions brought on by aberrant electrical activity in your brain are known as seizures.
9- Infection
Bacteria can enter the skin whenever an opening is made, such as with a needle. This results in an infection. An infection following an epidural is uncommon. This is so that the needle is sterile.
However, it is possible. Although this is even less common, the skin close to the epidural tube might occasionally become infected. This may lead to emergency surgery or antibiotics use.
10- Nerve Damage
The epidural needle can pierce a nerve, which may result in temporary or permanent loss of feeling in your lower body. Nerve injury can also result from employing the incorrect drug in an epidural and bleeding near the spinal cord. This side effect of epidural is really uncommon.
If it happens, it can result in numbing of hands and feet. But it only affects 1 in 4,000 to 1 in 200,000 women who have an epidural block. Though it normally improves within a few days or weeks, this may also occasionally take months. In very rare circumstances, an epidural may result in the permanent loss of feeling or movement in one or two legs.
What’s The Outlook?
Most epidural dangers are either minor or extremely uncommon. Your chances of experiencing a problem lower if a skilled anesthesiologist performs your spinal or epidural block.
Therefore, before your due date, consult with your anesthesiologist. Inquire about their expertise. Together, come up with a pain management strategy that will work for you.
Keep in mind that there are also alternatives to an epidural for pain treatment that you can opt for. These are:
- Breathing exercises
- Relaxation exercises
- Acupuncture
- Pain killers, such as nitrous oxide
- Support from a labour coach
The best pain relief comes from medication, but it has potential drawbacks. While natural methods will help you avoid negative effects, they might not be able to relieve your discomfort. Therefore, discuss the benefits and drawbacks of each approach with your doctor. Consider your particular preferences and pain threshold before making a choice. For that, consult with the best gynaecologists near you via Healthwire.
