Well everyone knows the positive side to an epidural. Pain free labor!! Yay!! If only it were that easy. In order to keep this blog from going on until tomorrow, I will be short and to the point. Feel free to ask any questions.
101 Reasons not to get an epidural: (jk only 14)
1. Epidurals slow down labor.
2. Epidurals increase use of pitocin (refer back to previous blogs to understand the dangers of that.)
3. Epidurals increase the chances of baby being removed by vacuum or forceps or having routine episiotomy. http://www.thecnj.co.uk/camden/2008/050108/news050108_04.html
4. Epidurals increase the chances of cesarean section especially in first time mothers.
5. Having the epidural too early into labor, when having slow dilation or when the head is still high in the pelvis increases the risk of having a c-section for poor progress. Epidurals prevent baby from being able to properly turn from posterior to anterior. (from the wrong way to the right way).
6. Epidurals cause complications, including life threatening complications. That is even with anesthetists using correct procedures and taking the proper precautions.
7. Epidurals cause fevers, increasing the chances that your baby will be kept in the nursery subjected to different testing and even given preventative antibiotics. That alone just makes me want to scream!
8. Epidurals cause long term and even chronic probelms. Headaches and paralysis.
9. Epidural anesthetics DO get to the baby as do the narcotic components of the narcotic epidurals.
10. Epidurals can negatively effect the baby’s heart rate.
11. Epidurals can have adverse effects in the newborn.
12. Lower dosages and new techniques of epidural administration do not reduce the adverse effects of epidurals.
13. Narcotics adversely effect baby’s oxygen levels before birth, can lead to breathing problems at birth and even interfere with early breastfeeding. On a really sad note I used to have an article saved where this happened to a woman during delivery. As soon as baby was born the nurse put the baby under oxygen. Unfortunately, 10 minutes went by before the nurse realized she had been giving the baby carbon dioxide instead of the oxygen and caused permanent long term brain damage. Unfortunately this could have been prevented even by simply not having an epidural and her baby would have never needed the oxygen to begin with.
14. Hospitals are expected to have an 80% effective rate use of epidurals in order to maintain proper payment to the anathesiologists on hand. They make anywhere from $500 to $2500 off of each patient per epidural.
