I often hear about the ‘awful paralysis’ and restrictive nature of epidurals and, for what it’s worth, it wasn’t my own experience at all. I guess that, just like every labour experience can vary a lot from one another, people’s responses to drugs and procedures can also vary quite a bit (for instance, nitrous oxide did absolutely nothing for me).
I started having a home birth but after 14 hours of gut-wrenching nausea on top of the pain and total exhaustion (my labour had begun at 11pm the night before, so I hadn’t gotten any sleep since 12 hours before that), I sensed there was a good risk I would not be able to properly push once the time would come.
The epidural is what gave me some sense of control back. It gave me exactly what I desperately wanted at that moment: An opportunity to gather myself and my strengths for the last step. I didn’t have problems sensing the contractions and pushing at all. I couldn’t sense the pain of the contractions but I could feel the pressure and motion of each. I don’t even remember any issues with paralysis afterwards either. I was back on my feet pretty quickly for a shower and the midwife had the authority to let us leave the hospital early. Not saying this is to be expected for everyone, obviously, but that’s what it comes down to: Your own labour and how it plays itself out is completely your own and so are every decisions you make about it. It should not be a competition and a woman ought to have every single option available, from the most spartan home birth to the most state-of-the art medical tools, that she may need.
I am lucky that I am Canadian. We had a couple of great midwives following us throughout the pregnancy and labour, even though we also had a room at the hospital available at any moment if we chose/needed. The midwives worked alongside the doctors once at the hospital and their counseling and authority still remained. This kind of service is what any mother ought to be getting, in any country that cares about its families. The only ‘right’ outcome is a healthy baby with a healthy mother.
