While you sit or lie on your side in bed, a small amount of medication is injected into the spinal fluid to numb the lower half of the body. It brings good relief from pain and starts working quickly, but it lasts only an hour or two and is usually given only once during labor. The epidural provides continued pain relief after the spinal block wears off.
Physician anesthesiologists are committed to patient safety and high-quality care, and have the necessary knowledge to understand and treat the entire human body.
Skip to content. How and when is an epidural for labor pain administered? Does it hurt when the epidural is administered? What does an epidural do? How long does the pain relief last? Can an epidural slow labor or lead to a cesarean delivery C-section? It only takes a couple of minutes to insert an epidural. The skin is numbed first, so you'll feel just a stick or pinch and some pressure.
A needle is only used to thread the thin catheter into place. Then, it's removed. You may be aware of the catheter in your back, but this isn't painful or uncomfortable. You should start to feel the effects of the medicine in 10—20 minutes. You may still feel the pressure of contractions, but you shouldn't feel the pain. Being aware of your contractions will help once you start to push. As the doctor adjusts the dosage, your legs may feel a little weak, warm, tingly, numb, or heavy.
The epidural can be inserted at different levels of your spine, depending on the area of your body that needs pain relief. Pain relief medicines are then given through the catheter. These take about 20 to 30 minutes to take full effect.
Your chest, tummy and legs may feel numb while the epidural medicines are being used, and your legs may not feel as strong as usual. While the catheter remains in your back, it can be used to top up your pain relief medicines manually or using an automatic pump. Mobile epidurals, which use a lower dose of pain relief medicines, are sometimes used in childbirth, allowing you to walk around during labour. When the epidural is stopped, the numbness usually lasts for a few hours before its effects begin to wear off.
While the medicine wear off, you'll probably be advised to rest in a lying or sitting position until the feeling in your legs returns. Epidurals are usually safe, but there's a small risk of side effects and complications, including:.
The doctor first uses a local anesthetic to numb the area where the needle will be inserted. Then the guide needle is inserted and removed, while the catheter remains in place. The catheter is taped in place up the center of your back with the end taped in place on top of your shoulder.
See pictures of epidural placement and area of numbness for childbirth. An anesthetic medicine is injected into the catheter to numb your body above and below the point of injection, as needed. The amount of discomfort or pain that you have depends on the amount of anesthetic used. Less anesthetic often called a light epidural will allow you to be more active in your labor and feel enough to push effectively.
With higher levels of anesthetic, you will feel little or no pain from your contractions. You may be required to remain in bed when an epidural is used. You will also have a tube placed in a vein intravenous, or IV tube and a fetal monitor. Before delivery, the epidural medicine dose can be decreased so that you can push more effectively while remaining relatively comfortable. The epidural catheter can also be used to numb the area between the vagina and anus perineum just before delivery.
Because the amount of medicine given at one time is small, epidural anesthesia wears off during labor unless additional medicine is given.
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