In light of all the epidural talk lately....

[stellarella]

I wanted to clarify the true risks associated with epidurals.

I am not anti-epidural (well I am for myself, but not for everyone else ) and I do support a womans right to choose.

I do however get very upset and concerned when women are led to believe that epidurals are risk free and safe. Honestly I am quite stunned that what has become such common knowledge amongst health care professionals and birthing mothers alike is now being dismissed.

I do not intend to cause offense with this thread. I do not expect anyone to justify their reasons for choosing one. The reasons are many and varied and they are all valid. All I want to do is share accurate information and prompt women to look further into these risks so that we can all say that we made truly informed decisions.

Here are some of the risks that you will never hear about in a parenting or birth book or any parenting or birth website, and certainly not from any medical profession. I even looked on an Australian Government website and the risks of epidurals were totally glossed over.

As you will see all the statistics/statements on this link have references to research papers/studies which can be looked up if you want further verification.

The author admits that the bias of this article is against epidurals, but that's nothing new seeing as any other article expounding the benefits of epidurals are bias in favour of them.

http://www.healing-arts.org/mehl-madrona/mmepidural.htm

It is not my intention to alarm anyone, only to prompt women to find out the true risks of any choice we make. As I have said before I have also chosen to have an epidural so I am fully aware of the reasons why women choose them

Please if you have any other articles to add to this thread then feel free to post them. I will too.

[neostudded]

Thanks, I have saved it and I will look at it when I can cope mentally. (I had one, still feel quite upset about my birth).

[justmum]

Thanks for posting that - it is very informative from the brief read I have had of the article. I hope to get a chance to sit down and have a proper read tomorrow.

[Verdi]

Thanks for the info! _ I actually already knew of all the possible risks from what the article stated.
i actually studied this at nursing school, IMO if i had to take peth or epi i would take epi, but obviously no drugs would be better.

As is said beforei think pain toleration is individual and like you i did epi's for 3 of my births and had a great experience but i knew of the risks.
The key is for women to know of possible risks eventhough they are very slight, then weigh up your pros and cons, personally i would never do peth again i used that for my first child but i believe that it is more potent and a greater level is transfered thru the placenta and it resulted in a sleepy baby eventhough he was born 10 minutes after it being administered
i can't be bothered finding the links but Pethidine is a lot more potent for baby than epi.
I wish i never ever used peth

[neostudded]

Can this thread be a sticky?
It would be very helpful for lots of mothers/mother to be. I know I would have loved to have read this information when I was pregnant with J.

I think it is also important to rule out any possible misinformation out there about epidural's.

[stellarella]

Side Effects of Epidurals: Research Data

Author’s note: All of the following data, unless otherwise cited, is collected and summarized from three recent reviews of this topic. This article is intended as a summary of available data. For more complete information, you are encouraged to seek out the original review articles, and to further trace them back to the original studies they review.

http://www.transitiontoparenthood.co...ffects%202.htm

[shed]

Great post Ella. I think this is the best way for people to be informed. Just give the facts and let them decide for themselves.

I am not anti-epidural either. I am not anti anything, I think the things we have available are miraculous and fantastic. My beef is that they are over-used, that's it. I would love to see some improvement in our system but the first step is to educate our current preggy's () so they go in to the system confident and powerful and come out smiling.

I am anti-epidural for myself because I am scared of the big needle. No medals for me

Why can't they invent something decent anyway? Far out.

[QTB]

what a fantastic site!! iv read a bit of it!

iv bookmarked the site and will finish reading it when i get more of a chance.

[stellarella]

Sarah Jane Buckley
http://www.acegraphics.com.au/articles/sarah02.html

[NibbleCurlynBub]

NO form of chemical pain-relief is risk-free or safe.


We do need to be informed of the risks involved with EVERY choice we have to make.

Well posted, I have noticed people getting a little confused about their information lately, too.