Epidural information card
This card is a summary. Please discuss anything that is not clear with your anaesthetist.
Setting up your epidural
- You will need to have an intravenous cannula and a drip.
- While the epidural is being put in, it is important that you keep still and let the anaesthetist know if you are having a contraction.
- Usually takes 20 minutes to set up and 20 minutes to work.
- Some epidurals do not work fully and need to be adjusted or replaced.
- A urinary catheter would be inserted after the placement of the epidural.
Advantages of an epidural
- Usually provides excellent pain relief.
- Sometimes a spinal is given first for a quicker effect.
- The dose or type of local anaesthetic can sometimes be altered to allow you to move around the bed. This is a low-dose (or mobile) epidural.
- In general epidurals do not affect your baby.
- Can be topped up for caesarean section if required
Possible problems with your epidural
- Repeated top-ups with stronger local anaesthetic may cause temporary leg weakness and increase the risk of forceps or ventouse delivery.
- The epidural may slow down the second stage of labour slightly.
- You may develop low blood pressure, itching or a fever during the epidural.
- The epidural site may be tender but usually only for a few days. Backache is NOT caused by epidurals but is common after any pregnancy.
Risks of having an epidural or spinal to reduce labour pain
Type of risk | How often does it happen? | How common is it? |
| Significant drop in blood pressure | 1 in every 50 women | Occasional |
Not working well enough to reduce labour pain so you need to use other ways of lessening the pain
Not working well enough for a caesarean section so you need to have a general anaesthetic | 1 in every 8 women
1 in every 20 vrouwen | Common
Sometimes
|
| Severe headache | 1 in every 100 women (epidural)
1 in every 500 women (spinal) | Uncommon |
Nerve damage (numb patch on a leg or foot, or having a weak leg)
Effects lasting for more than 6 months | Temporary: 1 in every 7000 women*
Permanent: 1 in every 80.000 women * | Rare
Very rare
|
Epidural abscess (infection)
Meningitis
Epidural haematoma (blood clot) | 1 in every 50.000 women
1 in every 145.000 women
*1 in every 360.000 women | Very rare
Very rare
Extremely rare |
| Accidental unconsciousness | 1 in every 100.000 women | Very rare |
| Severe injury, including being paralysed | *1 in every 350.000 women | Extremely rare |
The information available from the published documents does not give accurate figures for all of these risks. The figures shown above are estimates and may be different in different hospitals.
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