Many woman do have a good experience with epidurals during childbirth.  However, there are several risks, both for the birthing woman and the baby.  The great thing is that there are many natural pain management alternatives that are effective, such as hypno birthing classes and recordings.

What Are The Risks Of An Epidural

There is a short movie (about 3 minutes long) you can see on YouTube that lists the risks of epidurals, aptly titled, What Are The Risks Of An Epidural.  I recommend checking it out.

In brief however, an epidural is a drug, and a strong one at that.  Often, some sort of opiate like morphine is included in it.  So, it leaves the woman somewhat incapacitated, restricted to the bed and attached to all sorts of monitoring devices.

Sure, it takes away the pain of contractions.  But it also takes away the ability to feel when to push.  This, as well as being confined to laying in the bed, actually slow down labor.

Other risks include:

• drop in blood pressure
• decrease blood flow and oxygen to the baby which can lead to complications
• opiates crossing into the placenta and entering the baby’s bloodstream (basically, your baby is high on opiates!)
• side effects such as nausea and vomiting
• Increase heart rate
• more likely to have other medical interventions that you wouldn’t have had in a normal, unmedicated birth

Alternatives To Drugs In Childbirth

“Okay, that’s great,” you’re saying, “So I’m just supposed to deal with the pain?!”

Well, yes and no.  There are ways to cope with and even eliminate the feeling of pain.  Some of these techniques include:

• hypnobirthing
• guided imagery
• birthing affirmations
• acupressure
• birthing tub, shower, bath, etc.
• optimal birthing positions

Hypnosis

The method I’m really into is hypnosis for childbirth, sometimes called hypnobirthing.  Not only is hypnosis safe, it is effective.  There are a number of studies showing how hypnosis reduces labor time, decreases the need for pain meds, decreases the need for other medical interventions and lowers the chances of postpartum depression.

Personally, I like it because it is really relaxing.  It’s like an escape from my normal stressful days.  Stress during pregnancy is really bad, not just for you, but your baby too.  Extreme stress can actually have long-term effects on your baby.

At the least, hypnosis for childbirth adds relaxation to your pregnancy.  At best, it helps alleviate fear and anxiety during pregnancy, and helps deal with pain during labor.