Pengalaman bersalin dgn Epidural dan tanpa Epidural

Menyambung kisah Pengalaman bersalin di Hospital Swasta sebelum ini, ini kisah bersalin normal tetapi menggunakan ubat tahan sakit, Epidural semasa melahirkan anak no-2, Nur Mawaddah. Kalau tak silap kos Epidural alone shj RM800 termasuk dah dalam bil total RM3.2K itu. So aku kene tambah RM700 ( uiks banyak tu macam2 leh beli :p).

Tahniah la kepada teknologi dan kepakaran saintis yang mencipta Epidural, bagiku Epidural ni ibarat 'Syurga di dalam Labor Room".

Terus-terang kukatakan sebaik Epi dicucuk di tulang belakang ( ngeri tak bunyinya?), memang contraction semakin kurang dan hilang walaupun tak 100%. So, pendek kata rasa sakit giller tu mmg hilang terus ler ehehe. Aku minta kat bidan tu Epi sungguh2 tau, sebab mmg die takmo kasi bila die tahu anak no 1 aku tak guna any pain relief! Sumenyer keputusan aku sendiri, dah tak minta pandangan hubby sbb die tade dlm bilik wad itu. Mak aku mmg ngomel la sbb amik Epi hoho. So Epi dimasukkan masa tengah 5cm rasanya. Aku sampai spital terus ke labor room jam 12midnight. Masukkan Epi setelah masuk Labor Room jam 1.15am. Lepas Epi masuk mmg sakit hilang, tapi aku mula mengigil yg amat dahsyat. Gigi aku terketar2. Hubby pon dh risau terpaksa selimutkan aku. Aku rasa aku mmg tak sesuai Epi sebab ikut website tu kata orang yg ' Have low platelet counts' tak sesuai Epi + aku ni dilated cepat.

FYI, my platelet counts/hemoglobin never reach the normal range of 11.5 for all my pregnancies. Paling tinggi pon 10.5. Ditambah dengan Blood Preesure aku yg sokmo 90/50, or 80/50. Kalau sampai 100/60 tu dah paling hebat.

Then, baru kejap merasakan kenikmatan Epi, bukaan dah 10cm dllm kui 2am+ gitu. Tak sampai pon 1 jam masukkan Epi. Tapi masalahnya aku takde langsung rasa nak meneran. Mmg according to AmericanPregnancy, mmg tak rasa nak push!

Will I be able to push? You may not feel that you are having a contraction because of your epidural anesthesia. If you can not feel contractions then pushing may be difficult to control. For this reason your baby may need additional help coming down the birth canal. It may be necessary to apply pressure on your abdomen at the top of your uterus and/or use forceps to pull the baby out.

Disebabkan aku mmg dh baca info pasal Epi kat Internet kata kita susah nak rasa nak push, and end up ramai kene forseps/vacuum, so aku dah inform midwife, tolong le bagitau bila contraction datang yer. So bila contraction datang je aku pon push bodoh, tapi still tak berjaya sbb aku menggigil yg amat. Doc K sampai, die ni mmg sgt tenang, die kata takpela..take your time. Haha! korang nak tau die bior je aku ngan mid wife berusaha sampai hampir 1 jam,. Agaknya kalau Doc lain dah bedah aku kots. Dan akhirnya baby kuar jam 2.50am setelah aku menggunakan kuasa "Law of Attraction" keh keh. Aku kata kat diri sendiri " whatever it is aku mesti push bodoh sekuat hati tanpa menggunakan sebarang assistance (vacuum/forseps)". cheewah :p

BabyCenter kata ramai kene forsep/vacuum ( additional charge ni tau eheh :p)

• There's a greater chance of needing to have a forceps or ventouse (also known as vacuum) delivery because epidurals often prevent the baby moving into the best position to be born. Also, it often stops you from feeling the urge to push in the second stage of labour.

Cemana boleh terfikir nak amik Epidural? antara sebabnya:

1. Masa last check-up ngan doctor, doctor cek bukaan bawah dan aku rasa sakit, yela kan sbb bukaan lom bukak lagi. So Doc boleh lak kata " awak ni ada gaya kene amik Epidural". Terpengaruh tak ngan doc? of course! ehehhe. Lps 3 hari final check-up tu aku pon bersalin.
   
2. Naluri di spital kecik, so sampai-sampai je ke dok ward menunggu dan hubby tak leh masuk. Tanda bersalinku, darah dah turun mencurah juga sbb masa jalan dr katil ke toilet abeh darah turun sampai ke kaki dan lantai. Aku panik sbb hubby tade dan ditambah tak jumpa laughing gas. Hubby hanya dibenarkan masuk Labor room.
3. Teringat keperitan menehan sakit dr 7cm ke-atas masa melahirkan anak no 1, Mus'ab.
4. Banyak membaca. Ekceli aku banyak sgt baca info kat Internet like babycenter etc about Pain Relief during Labor sebelum bersalin, tu yg tau memacam tu. So tak elok gak baca membaca eh?
5. Perasaan ingin mencuba ( dan membelanjakan wang ekekke)
   

According to AmericanPregnancy, 50% wanita memilih utk mengambil Epidural. Basa disini. Dan antara kelebihan Epidural ialah:

• Allows you to rest if your labor is prolonged
• Relieving the discomfort of childbirth can help some woman have a more positive birth experience
• Most of the time an epidural will allow you to remain alert and be an active participant in your birth
• If you deliver by cesarean, an epidural anesthesia will allow you to stay awake and also provide effective pain relief during recovery
• When other types of coping mechanisms are not helping any longer, an epidural may be what you need to move through exhaustion, irritability, and fatigue.
  

Bagaimanapun, Epidural mempunyai kekurangan jua:

• You may experience a severe headache caused by leakage of spinal fluid. Less than 1% of women experience this side effect from epidural use. If symptoms persist, a special procedure called a “blood patch”, an injection of your blood into the epidural space, can be done to relieve the headache--> aku tak rasa lak headache buat masa skrang
  
• After your epidural is placed, you will need to alternate from lying on one side to the other in bed and have continuous monitoring for changes in fetal heart rate. Lying in one position can sometimes cause labor to slow down or stop
• You may experience the following side effects: shivering, ringing of the ears, backache, soreness where the needle is inserted, nausea, or difficulty urinating
• You may find that your epidural makes pushing more difficult and additional interventions such as Pitocin, forceps, vacuum extraction or cesarean may become necessary= --> setuju, lama toi nak push!
  
• For a few hours after birth the lower half of your body may feel numb which will require you to walk with assistanc --> sgt setuju! nak pi toilet hampir rebah! sib baik hubby ada sebelah masa tu
  
• In rare instances, permanent nerve damage may result in the area where the catheter was inserted.
• Though research is somewhat ambiguous, most studies suggest some babies will have trouble "latching on" which can lead to breastfeeding difficulties. Other studies suggest that the baby may experience respiratory depression, fetal malpositioning; and an increase in fetal heart rate variability, which may increase the need for forceps, vacuum, cesarean deliveries and episiotomies.
• Epidurals may cause your blood pressure to suddenly drop. --> btol la kot..sbb aku dh la BP rendah, lps masuk Epi siap menggigil2
  

Kesimpulannya ini adalah Pro dan Cons antara amik Epi ( deliver Mawaddah) atau Langsung Takde any paid relief ( deliver Mus'ab & Muaz) yer:

1. Boleh la relaks sket masa 8cm keatas tu kan sbb tade rasa yg sakit sgt ( Pro)
2. Menggigil2 dan kene masuk drip, kalau normal tade drip langsung (Cons)
3. Lepas bersalin badan masih lemah, masa nak pi toilet hampir rebah! ( Cons). FYI masa Muaz dan Mus'ab tu kan, lepas bersalin aku dah boleh jalan dr katil ke toilet tanpa bantuan ( perlahan2). Masa time Mus'ab, esoknya siap boleh jalan gi Nursery ( jauh juga tau)
4. Terasa sakit belakang kat tempat cucuk tu hampir 2 minggu ( Cons). Ini mmg agak mengganggu BF yg selesa. Kalau tak amik, lepas bersalin ok saje..tak sakit belakang. Ada org kata tua nnti rasa sakit blkg, ntah le btol ke tak. tapi skrang aku tade rasa la.

Memang la bersalin normal tanpa Epidural badan lagi kuat :) .

Jadi terpulangla kepada kita untuk memilihnya yer. There's no wrong or right. Kalau sudah pilih Epi, bayar sahaja. ;). Aku rasa kalau bersalin kat Gomen spital, die tak kasi apa2 ubat kot eh?

Gambar hiasan. Epi dicucuk di tulang belakang itu. Credit to Singhealth

Apapon, sakit bersalin sapa tak takut kan? aku pon takut juga, tak tipu :p. So kite kene banyakkan persiapan mental, doa zikir, baca yassin etc. Aku mmg tabik spring sama ibu-ibu yg bersalin tanpa any pain relief , syabas2 terutama mak mertua aku. eheh siap no episotomy & laughing gas.

Nasihat aku, sapa nak amik Epidural, tanyer la doktor anda yer..kemudian banyakkan membaca mengenainya dahulu.

Ada perasaan ingin mencuba lg?
Ada! Aku rasa nak try Pethidine, sapa penah guna plak? sila kongsi2 eheheh ( erkk..kalau hubby tau ni menentang habis)