One more myth explored

As much as 70% of pregnant women receive an epidural for delivery. This pain blocking medicine works directly on the spinal cord. All kinds of myths surround the medication, a lot of unfounded, for the most part because we hang on to the idea that natural child birth is best. Women are advised that epidurals slow down births. They may in fact cause the need for cesarean. Epidurals might hinder the ability to breastfeed quickly after the birth because the baby will be groggy.

All of these ideas have been refuted through research yet they persist leaving women to feel guilty about accepting the safest form of pain medication for childbirth.

Fentanyl, the active ingredient in epidural analgesic, is delivered in a small dose to the mother. The amount that actually gets into her blood, crosses the placenta and goes into the baby is super tiny. Plus, it’s short acting, the effects are cleared within a few minutes of catheter removal. Breastfeeding is not affected at all even though there is no denying it is a complex action for a newborn baby. As long as the epidural is given without additional sedatives, analgesics or narcotic injections, there should be no issue with breast health or the baby’s ability to latch on.

Women have been having babies competently for centuries. Trust yourself, trust your doctor. Get the information you need to make a decision you are comfortable and realize that there is a lot of misinformation.

Source: LATimes