Facts About EPIDURAL!

Bukan la nk kata, aku betul. Takkan mati amik epidural. Ataupun sapa yg ckp epidural tu menyebabkan sakit tulang blakang tu tak fikir panjang. Tp i just want to show the right facts about epidural. Mmg la, kalu kita bersalin sepatutnya kita rasa sakit, tu pengorbanan kita utk anak dan suami. Yela, anak tu utk kebahagian suamikn. Tapi bg aku, ADALAH SALAH SAMA SEKALI DAN BERTENTANGAN DENGAN PERIKEMANUSIAAN jika kita secara direct mengondem org yg SUKA GILA amik epidural. Takdelah, bkn aku nk kata, korg salah. But get the facts right before you wanna accuse someone killing herself. Just because ORANG KATA, MAKCIK AKU KATA, MAK AKU KATA, NENEK AKU KATA, MOYANG KO TAKDE kata apa2? U need to get the fact straight. Apa itu Epidural yg sebenarnya. And kenapa ada setengah org mengalami sakit belakang? Before you can say anything.

 

The very main thing epidural is not good is because it cause more for you to pay to the hospital. Something melonjak smpai beratus2 ringgit. Sbb to do an epi, bkn lah boleh doktor biasa, even doktor yg sambut anak u all, bknlah org yg sepatutnya buat prosedur epidural nih. SEORANG PAKAR BIUS or to be exact Anaestathic shj yg boleh buat procedure ni. Memang ada risiko, sekiranya yg buat tu adalah ORANG BARU BLAJAR. Kemungkinan die akan tersasar dr injekkan kt tulang belakang kita tuh. Tapi masa aku bersalin kt PPUM yg BANYAKKK GILAAA STUDENNT JERIT2 HOYE HOYE BABY DH KUAR.. Tp still yg buat epi kat aku adalah seorang Anaestathic yg GARANG dan kul 430pm dh balik. Smpai esok pg, takda sapa brani sentuk jarum epi yg menusuk blakang badan aku. Sbb hanya Anaestathicion betul ke ntah eja yg bole buat benda tu.

 

TU je yg seksa skit. Tp masa die injek - i felt nothing. Btol aku tak tipu. Ada untung aku ke tipu? Aku ase injek amik darah lg sakit. Sbb injek amik drh mmg budak praktikal je yg buat kt PPUM tuh. Even aku gi ampang puteri yg doktor muda amik drh pn aku ase sakit. Inikan pulakk la pelajar praktikal yg buat. And lepas bersalin, hanya sakit bahagian breast merebak ke lengan sbb breast aku bengkak, SUSU byk, tp firdaus tak kuat sgt menyusu, cuma kerap je. Aku plak malas perah. Alhamdulillah, aku tak mengalami sakit blakang. Smpai la aku dh boyot balik nih. Hanya sakit bahagian ari2 je, n contraction skali skale. Aku bkn la nk blagak. Tapi aku geram. Bkn sorg dua konon nk nasihat aku. RAMAI. Aku tak kisah, aku tau korg sayang aku. Tp masalahnya, aku lg byk buat research n baca kt internet n dpt kn feedback DOKTOR, bkn dr org ramai. So i know where i stand. Aku tau mmg ada risiko. Aku tak kata aku akan 100% selamat amik epidural. Tp tolong jgn buat muka seolah2 aku sedang bunuh diri bila aku opt utk amik epi jgk for my second child ni. Sbb aku rasa betapa tenangnya waktu nk bersalin tuh. Mmg takde ase sakit. Wpn Hubby takde di sisi aku. Mmg aku akui. Aku amat takot utk 2nd child nih. Sbb hubby taknak teman aku. Dia takot nnti die mabuk darah. Aku taknak sapa2 selain dr hubby aku yg teman. Mak aku ke, mak metua aku ke. TAKNAK. Aku rela sorg2. Kang petua apa plak dorg nk suggest buat aku sakit ati, bkn sakit nk bersalin.

 

Aku tau perempuan ni kadang2 terlebih concern. Aku pn mcm tu. Tp aku amat rimas. So selepas membebel seberapa lama. Lets talk about the facts.

 

The Procedure

 

The epidural can leave the mother wide awake and mentally aware of everything going on during the birth of her baby.

 

You will be asked to assume a position that will help the anesthetist find the landmarks on your body needed to place the needle correctly. This maybe sitting up on the edge of the bed leaning over and pushing your back outward or it may be laying on your side curled up in a ball, also pushing your back out. (Kita akan disuruh duduk kt birai katil, kaki berjuntai kt bawah. Lepas tu die suruh tunduk n duduk diam2. Before die injek die akan ckp, "Sorry ye, sakit sikit jgn gerak ye", patu ase mcm kene gigit semut. Yg tu sbenanye die injek numbing agent, iaitu bius la, kasi kawasan tu tak sakit. Then br die masukkan needle utk epidural. Sbb tu tak rasa sakit. "Ok sudah, boleh bangun...") The position is uncomfortable because of the belly in the way. Most moms worry a lot about having to stay still during contractions. Be sure to talk to those with you about this fear (kalu takot, bimbang, mana tau doktor tu nampak muda, kita nk tuka fikiran, tros ckp. We have rights to say what we want or don't.. Bia dorg mrh. We have our rights to do that!). They will tell you what you need to do to ensure that they know when you're having a contraction, so it is well timed (Besenye epidural takkan diberi kepada moms yg dh bukak lebih dr 7cm. Sbb mmg nk branak dh. Time aku dlu masa tu br 4 5 cm je. Tp kt PPUM die tak aware aku pn cmne aku nk tau contraction tu mcm mana. Takde briefing tu kekurangan die. Tp aku sendiri alert. Wpn Dr bahagian perut kekaki, mmg tak rasa apa dah, TP otak aku bejalan n aku sedar n segar je. So aku tgk mesin CTG kt tepi aku. So tanya nurse, dia ckp ni heart beat, ni contraction. So aku tau bila aku contraction, n bila heartbeat anak aku menurun. Yela gomen kn byk patient la kot, dh tu doktor meeting lak tu. Tinggal student practical yg tak brape nk tau sgt. Pakar bius tu mmg bkn kepakaran die psl bersalin, dia hanya tau bius je. Lgpn die dh balik. So aku sendiri yg monitor diri aku. Ni salah 1 kebaikan epidural, I still know and realise what happen sekeliling aku... Aku tak boleh tdo, Dorg kate i shud get some sleep until opening tu bukak besar. Sbb aku risau. Aku dh having contraction more dh 24 hours masa tu. Ketuban pn dh lama doktor pecahkan. Tu bahagian aku la kot. Pengorbanan aku. Mgkin aku tak rasa sakit. Tp aku amat risaukan anak aku... Nasib baik tau. Sbb aku jgk la yg alert dorg, heartbeat anak aku dh turun. N aku dh mula rasa mcm nk berak. Wpn aku tak sepatutnya tau pon if aku nk berak. Sbb aku dh di epidural kan. Kiranya epidural ni bkn menghilangkan tros sakit. Hanya 70-80% je. Asa nk berak tu sbenanye ase nk bersalin. Bila dorg check mmg opening aku dh cukop utk bb kuar. Doktor ptt habis meeting kul 6. Kul 4 dorg dh kuar, sbb nurse ngn budak praktikcal dh tak tau nk buat apa. Mmg aku ase nk maki dorg je bila nmpk Firdaus kuar biru 1 badan. So wpn amik epidural. JGNLAH korg sambil lewa je. Hanya kita menyayangi diri kita dan zuriat kita melebihi org lain. Get the facts right. Jgn main ckp je tp tak tau apa2... ;p).

Your back will be washed and a shot of a numbing agent will be given before the epidural. Then the epidural needle is placed into the epidural space around the spinal cord. A test dose is given to ensure that the epidural is in the correct place. Once this test is done the medications are set to a continuous drip. A small catheter is left in place to deliver the medications continuously throughout labor. This catheter is taped up your back so that it is difficult to remove without trying.

You may be asked to lay in certain positions for awhile as the medication works with gravity. You will also have your blood pressure monitoring every few minutes, continuous fetal monitoring and other monitoring to ensure you react well with the anesthesia.(Monitoring ni aku buat sendiri. PPUM mmg hampeh skit tang ni. ;p)

A No-No Condition On Epidural Sometimes

1. You are taking certain medications.
   Medications that you take can effect how likely you are to be able to get an epidural. The biggest culprit are blood thinners.

2. Your blood work isn't just right.
   If you have a low platelet count or sometimes other problems with your blood work may make the placement of an epidural more risky.

3. The doctor can't find the right space.
   Sometimes due to the normal growth of your back, your weight or back problems, including scoliosis, it may be impossible for the anesthesiologist to find the epidural space. Therefore you can't have the epidural placed in labor.

4. You are bleeding heavily.
   If you are bleeding heavily or are suffering from shock, you will not be given an epidural for safety reasons. Since many women tend to have lower blood pressure with an epidural, this may be made even more dangerous with the lowered blood pressure of some of these problems.

5. You have an infection of the back.
   It is not in your best interest to have your anesthesiologist place an epidural through an area that is infected. This can cause the infection to spread to the spine and other areas of your body and can potentially cause a great deal of damage.

6. No anesthesiologist is available.
   Your hospital may only have an anesthetist available during certain hours of the day or days of the week. You may also have an anesthesia department that covers an entire hospital and not just the labor and delivery unit.

7. Labor restrictions.
   Some hospitals will place restrictions on when you can have an epidural. It may be that you must be at a certain point in labor, like four (4) centimeters before an epidural can be given. Other hospitals may decide that epidural should not be given after a certain point of labor, for example when you've reached full dilation (10 centimeters).

The Risk

 

Ni aku copy n paste mana yg aku jmpe la. Aku akui la bende ni bkn 100% selamat. Mcm yg aku kata tu. Selain dr case sakit tulang belakang, mmg ada bende lain. But then again, mcm aku ckp. The mother itself jgn la lepas tgn jek. Mentang2 la dh tak sakit. Tros tdo. Tp kadang2 Allah tu lebih mengetahui. Kita cuma bole berdoa agar semua selamat.

 

Significant Low Blood Pressure (Hypotension): Yg ni sbb blood flow kita jd rendah, penyebab heartrate bb jatuh. Tu kita kene sentiasa alert. Masa firdaus dlu, dr 150ps turun 130 lepas amik epi. Lepas tu die turun naik la. But maintain atas 100. Bila aku dh rasa nk berak tu, die tros turun below 100 even cecah bawah 90 smpai aku jerit2 pggl nurse smpai suma doktor kuar meeting room. Tu budak praktikal dh dekat 10 org kerumun aku, doktor pakar pn dekat 4 org kt tepi katil aku. Kira apa2 kene alert. Tp, lg 1, org epi, before an epi, die kene di-hidratkn = masuk air, utk elak Hypotension risk ni.

 

Uterine contractions can become weaker and less frequent. An oxytocin infusion is then necessary to improve labor and produce good strength contractions Mothers having epidurals have longer labors and have a higher incidence of the use of oxytocin than mothers having non-medicated deliveries.

 

Lagi 1, kalu amik epi ni mmg lepas labour takleh tros jln. Nnti pening2. Sbb kdg2 org yg c-sect pn die amik bius epi ni. Kdg2 ke mmg ek? Tu aku tak tau la plak. Kire mcm tu la conditionnye. Lepas tu mcm jahit kt bawah tu byk la dr org yg normal. Sbb doktor main sunat je, sbb die tau kite tak sakit kn. Huhuhuhu. Selain tu mcm ada la muntah2 mual2. But aku dinasihatkan jgn tros bangun, baring dlu, minum air. Releksss. So aku takde muntah2. Cuma 1st time berdiri tu ase mcm nk jatuh la. But nurse masa lepas aku bersalin tu baik, nurse shift malam kt PPUM masa tuh. Die teman aku masa 1st time aku berdiri. Lg 1 overwhelm sgt n happy sgt tgk baby. Aku mcm ase sehat n ok je. Alhamdulillah.

 

Sorry aku takleh sambung research ni. Ada keje. Lgpn arini ari jumaat. Dh nk dekat masa rehat. Nk gi bli brg skit kt Guardian. So everyone out there. Jgn la sebar bad rumours about epi when you don't know sgt ek. Mmg btol ada complication and risk. Tp percentage dia very low....

 

Lgpn technology masa kini tu, meminimumkan lg percentage. Masa mak2 kite dlu 19% org akan ada effect epidural on sakit tulang blakang. Today percentage tu dh turun kepada 2 or 3% shj. Bkn takde mmg ada. But mcm aku ckp, kita sendiri kene aware. Kalu jenis mls nk aware, ha takpela takyah amik epidural. Org mcm aku yg penakut ni aku takleh jamin aku tak amik. Aku try avoid. Tp kalu aku dh teramik tu bkn bermakna aku nk bunuh diri. But thanks for your concerns anyway........ ;p