QuestionHello.. I am gettin married soon, and I hope to be starting a family.. I am terribly afraid of childbirth, as I do NOT have a high tolerance for pain. I want to know the risks of having an epideral, and will it harm my child? and what are the risks to me? I dont want to cause any harm to my child.. but I dont want to be in alot of pain either.. as I am not very big, and my boyfriend is VERY large.. I am scared our kids are gonna come WALKING out... :) thank you so much, for any help you can give me.
-Britt
AnswerDear Britt,
A lot of women are afraid of childbirth, but there are a few things about it that you should know.
- A baby's size doesn't depend on the father at all. A baby can only get a big as your body allows it to be, meaning that if you were a little baby, then your baby will probably be little as well when he or she is born. Afterwards, the baby may grow to be as tall as its father, but definately not while he or she is growing inside of you.
- I had a spinal block epidural, and I will tell you from experience that I hated it. I only had it because I had a c-section. Now, my back hurts all the time, my left side is numb, and every now and then I can't sit up after laying down for a while. Doctors tell me that it's a very small chance that it messed my back up, but I'm convinced that it is the cause for all my pain.
- Epidurals are the safest form of pain management. The only bad things about it are that they may not be strong enough to easy the pain, they may slow down the progress of your labor by limiting your urge to push, and it does kind of affect the baby by making him or her kind of sleepy and less responsive at birth.
- Thousands of women have epidurals everyday, and they swear it's a miracle drug.
- A woman's body has her own type of pain medication. When in pain, your body releases chemicals that works like pain medications, although not enough to limit your amount of pain dramatically. If something hurt that bad, you pass out to keep yourself from feeling the pain, but I don't think I've heard of that happening during childbirth.
- Fear of childbirth can make pain worse because you don't know what to expect. That's why it's a wonderful idea to take a class. They will teach you about everything- including ways to manage pain without medication.
You have to just look at the benefits and risks of every type of pain relief. The best is not using any drugs at all, but sometimes this isn't possible, so you should definately look into your options. There are so many forms of pain medication out there that you can probably find the one that is best for you. You should discuss the options with your doctor when it is closer for time for you to have your baby. Things in the medical field change every day, so you have to stay updated.
Congrats on the getting married, and I hope you have a wonderful and happy life. I'm sure your babies will be wonderful and a joy to you and yours. :)
~Andrea
