Epidural catheter during VBAC labor? Your thoughts ont the Pros & Cons PLEASE!

[mommyNluv]

Just wondering for if any you VBACers that are having a hospital birth are going to "submit" to an epidural catheter. My doctor is supportive of a VBAC, but wants me to have just the catheter implace incase a c-section needs arise.

Using the epidural for pain management during labor is out of the question for me. But just a catheter?

Your thoughts on the PRO's and CONS of letting the doc put an epidural catheter in a hopeful VBAC...please?

[rozzie'sma]

mine wasn't a vbac but I had an epi catheter in place with no epi and that thing hurt. I couldn't move because I could feel it grinding into my vertebrae. I wouldn't allow it if I had to do over again but if it is the only way to go vag. then I might. I don't see why it would make a big difference anyway. If it was needed you would still have to get the anastetiologist (sp?) to come up and start the drug and check the placement. Without putting the drugs in there is no way to tell if it is in right anyway. And if it's not they'll have to redo it

[eleven]

Honestly, I would question how supportive my doc was of VBAC if he wanted to prep me for a c/s right from the start.

Personally, I don't see any need to submit to that. If a woman needs a c/s, they can administer anesthetic after the decision has been made.

Good luck and I hope you have a wonderful, glorious VBAC!

[KiwiZ]

How far along are you in your pregnancy? I would write down all your ?s and discuss this in depth with your MD. Tell him/her everything from your medical concerns to your feelings. If you are early enough in your pregnancy, you can always switch to a practice more in line with what you are searching for, or perhaps find a doula/childbirth asst who can be an advocate for you

Since you asked for pros/cons:

I would say a con is that the catheter could annoy you /make you uncomfortable and distract you from labor, which of course you don't need. It also might tempt you to go ahead and get an epidural and epidurals can raise your chance of having a c-sec

To me, the pros are that you just don't know what is going to happen and the catheter could make things quicker, just in case. For me personally, I chose to have an epidural, it helped me relax and my labor really sped up once I did that. I didn't feel it going in at all, my contrax were so powerful. And they turned it down so I could feel to push. I felt it was the right decision for me personally, but it is not for everyone.

Best of luck to you and keep us posted :)

[Storm Bride]

To me, there is no "pro".

The cons? It really comes down to one...the only reason I've ever allowed a freaking needle to be put into my spine is for imminent surgery (and I was tempted to refuse, even then)! There's no way in the world that I'd allow them to "place" something in my spine "just in case"...not ever. My first section was an emergency (at least in theory), and they managed to get it taken care of without an epi catheter (of course, it was general anesthetic, which is vile).

[ruby slippers]

[QUOTE=Storm Bride]To me, there is no "pro".

I agree. having an epidural catheter in-place is invasive and not without risks. We don't walk around prepared for surgey incase we have an accident. It goes along the same lines as not being able to eat or drink, incase you need surgery. I would discuss this with the OB. What happens when a mom without prior surgery needs a section, they put the catheter in then or if it truely is an emergency then there's general.
Best of luck though.

[GatorNNP]

I would say no, no, and no. First of all there is no guarantee that the catheter will be in the proper place for the thing to work (epidurals have to be re-done about 2% of the time) and if you have a uterine rupture your ob isn't going to wait the 10-15 minutes it would take for enough of a block to do a c/section. Labor epidurals are not as strong as they dose for a surgery. Believe me you would be better off with no epidural. A good anesthetist can do a spinal much quicker or alternatively general if things are that bad. All a catheter will do is make it that much easier for someone to talk you into pain relief early in your labor which may slow it down and lead to them wanting to "augment" with artificial hormones. This is not an evidenced based practice anyway--it is just an idea on how to make things "less risky". If they are that worried about it then they probably aren't truly supportive of VBAC.

[lizziejackie]

If you would happen to need a c/s, there will be plenty of time to decide and prepare. I would definitely say no. And, while you are at it, don't sign any pre-op papers in advance "just in case" either.

[ccohenou]

I've not heard of having an epidural catheter in place w/o having meds running. I guess the "pro" would be that you would be that much closer to being anesthetized if you needed *immediate* surgery. But if a super-emergency should arise, they can put you out really fast regardless, in my experience. It sounds like overkill to me.

[stayathomecristi]

Echoing what other posters said, I wouldn't allow such a thing--ever. It's invasive, uncomfortable and IMO unnecessary. You could also have lingering effects if it's misplaced.

[KKmama]

I had an epidural (reluctantly) with my 1st VBAC because the labor was going on so long (40 hrs), and I needed some rest so I could keep going. I'm hoping for a shorter labor this time... if I can avoid an epidural, I will.

I wouldn't do it. If you need a C quickly, they can generally do an epidural pretty darned quickly. If it's a dire emergency, they're going to do general anaesthesia no matter what, whether you've got the catheter or not (because even with the epi cath in place, it takes time for the epi to kick in).

I'm willing to do a hep lock, I'm willing to do monitoring (my hospital has telemetry units). Both of these worked fine for me last time, no jumping the gun. But I agree with whoever said *this* sounds like overkill.

[Mama Coltrane]

No, I wouldn't do it either. Well, I just had a VBAC and didn't do it. I didn't have anything, but I had agreed before hand that I would take a heplock.. I arrived pushing , so i went totally free of medical equipment. I think a catheter seems pretty severe. I agree that there is time to prep you for surgery if the need arises.

[Attached Mama]

NO WAY! for all of the previously mentioned reasons.