Thinking Twice This Time

by B.G.
(Gaffney, SC, USA)

I had an epidural for my first child. Honestly the procedure wasn't half as bad as the contractions I felt, but I was not able to walk around like I wanted to.

A few hours into labor my epidural wore off on one half of my body. They kept injecting more medication into me.

Nearing the birth the medication wore off completely, no matter how much they tried to pump into me.

After the birth I looked really bloated and had a lot of vaginal bleeding and severe back pain.

Five years later I still have back trouble and actually had to cut my martial arts career short (I was in training for my third degree black belt and ran a school).

I am expecting again (yay!!) and really up in the air about pain relief this time.

The epidural was effective for pain relief (while it worked that is) but not sure if it was worth it in the long run.