After the tube is placed, you will be able to lie on your back, turn, walk, and do other things your doctor says you can do.
It is recommended that you lie down and rest at home for at least 2 hours immediately after the procedure. Plan to rest and relax for the first 24 hours after the injection in a reclined position. Limit walking or sitting to 10-20 minutes at a time. You may resume all medications as previously prescribed.
Do not drive within 12 hours of receiving your epidural injection. Do not apply heat right to the injection site for at least three days following the epidural. This includes steam rooms, saunas, and hot packs, but your regular shower is safe.
Side-Lying
Pros: This position can be done by mamas who have had a spinal block or epidural. Can help prevent tears and the need for tools like forceps or a vacuum. Takes the pressure off of your back and tailbone.
Lying on one's side in labour with an epidural is safe and leads to more spontaneous births. Women who lie on their side in the second stage of labour after a low-dose epidural are more likely to give birth spontaneously than those who remain upright when actively contracting.
Some causes of back pain after an epidural include an allergic reaction, poor positioning, or nerve damage. The injection of the epidural could cause inflammation in the area, which can also cause pain and discomfort. Muscle spasms may also occur because of an epidural.
Although you can apply ice, you shouldn't apply heat to the injection area after an epidural. Wait at least 72 hours to do this. A regular shower is fine, as long as you don't turn the temperature too high.
And you'll still be able to feel your baby moving through the birth canal and coming out. Epidural medication is delivered through a catheter – a very thin, flexible, plastic, hollow tube – that's inserted into the epidural space just outside the membrane that surrounds your spinal cord and spinal fluid.
Once the epidural takes effect, you need to stay in bed. Your legs can become weak, and it will not be safe for you to walk around. A Foley catheter (another type of small plastic tube) may be placed in your bladder to drain urine since you won't be able to get up and go to the bathroom.
The potential for a quicker labor, delivery and recovery – For some people, a natural birth may go more quickly. While it depends on several different factors, like how relaxed you may be, in some cases medications can interfere with contractions and prolong labor.
Depending on the dosage of an epidural and how your body responds to it, you may have complete loss of feeling and movement in your legs, you may be able to feel the pressure of contractions but not pain and have limited movement in your legs, or you may able to feel pressure and some discomfort from contractions and ...
The needle or epidural tube can damage nerves, but this is uncommon. Nerve damage can cause loss of feeling or movement in parts of your lower body. The most common symptom is a small, numb area with normal movement and strength. This usually gets better after a few days or weeks, but can sometimes take months.
While it sounds scary, it doesn't last long, and it's a good sign that your baby's almost here. Some women don't experience the ring of fire. If you have an epidural, you may not have this sensation, or you may have a dulled burning sensation.
Recent research has suggested that 6 cm of cervical dilation should be the threshold for the active labor phase, and it has confirmed that epidural analgesia (EA) is a safe method of pain relief during labor.
You can still feel some pressure of contractions, but you don't have constant pain going through your entire body. Study participants said having an epidural had a positive impact on their birth experience, changing their challenging situations into something manageable and even enjoyable.
Because each person's reaction towards an epidural may be different, your doctor may tell you to stay away from eating or drinking anything to avoid an upset stomach directly after the injection.
How long does it take to do? Placing the epidural takes about 10 minutes, with good pain relief starting in another 10-15 minutes.
Increased pain after epidural
The epidural space, where the doctor injects the steroid, is small. The introduction of steroid fluid into this space, where nerves are already inflamed, may temporarily increase pressure, irritating spinal nerves.
The biggest difference between spinal blocks vs epidurals is their amount of pain relief: spinal blocks provide total pain relief, while epidurals provide partial pain relief. The reason for this difference is that the former is an anesthetic, while the latter is an analgesic—no sensation versus no pain.
The main symptom of epidural-related back pain is numbness or tingling around the injection area. Additionally, it is widespread for people to feel sore on the back a few days after epidural However, this pain and uncomfortable feeling should be gone within a few days after the epidural.
The risk of damage to nerves is between 1 in 1,000 and 1 in 100,000. In many of these cases the symptoms improve or resolve within a few weeks or months. Nerve damage is a rare complication of spinal or epidural injection.
You should only need one epidural for labour and birth. It can be re-sited if the first one does not work effectively. You can have an epidural even after you've tried all other forms of pain relief. You won't need to use any other pain relief with an epidural.
“There isn't a minimum cervical dilation. I have done epidurals at one centimeter and when a woman is fully dilated at 10 centimeters,” Dr. McGuire says. A common concern is that having an epidural early in labor slows down labor and delivery.