I have had two c-section deliveries and both involved the obvious use of pain medication.  Let me first give a brief overview of my first delivery.  I checked into the hospital at 5a.m. in the morning, and was checking out with our first born after a mere 36 hours.  I elected to have a spinal with this delivery, and must say that I was very happy. 

The first time I had a spinal I was taken into the operating room before the spinal could be administered, I was terrified, the nurses’ had made the mistake of showing me the size of the needle used in the spinals.  I am a person who is scared of pain and needles by the way.  So I was very scared, once we got to the operating room door, my fiancé was told he would have to wait outside.  This sent me into a panic.  I cannot honestly say I know how many injections are given; I stopped caring after the third needle prick.  While the pricks of the needle did hurt, I felt no pain at all during my delivery.

This is something that I learned was not a guarantee from an epidural.  During the delivery of my youngest daughter, the nurse kept looking at me nervously, I kept watching her while just laying there, all I could feel of my stomach was a bit of tugging, and pulling, there was no pain at all.  I finally asked the nurse what was wrong, and she asked me if I was in any pain at all.  When I said no, not at all she looked very shocked. 

She explained that the year before when she had her child during a c-section that she had an epidural and felt the whole thing the entire time, and was in so much pain during the delivery that she was unable to hold her child after the delivery.  She was quite shocked that I was not in any pain. 

The spinal is not without drawbacks, it does take motion sickness to an extreme level after the delivery, however if you are aware of this before the delivery it is not a huge shock.  Anytime I was moved after the delivery I would get very sick, but since with both of my deliveries I didn’t spend long in the hospital I didn’t have long to learn to adapt. 

I was in the hospital 26 hours with my youngest from check in to check out, and was forced to wait on her to pass her 24-hour check up before being able to leave the hospital with her.  I have had no major problems from my spinals.  I would have to say that the only problem I have experienced was occasional sharp pains in my back if I am standing for hours and hours on end.  This did not occur before the deliveries, but it is a small price to pay for no other problems. 

I would never consider having an epidural if I choose to have another child.  I would stick solely with the spinals that have served me well in the past.  After 2 successful c-sections with no complications I am very glad that my doctors took such good care of me, I am also glad that my first doctor took the time to really explain my options to me the day before the delivery so that I had time to think about what I really wanted before the delivery itself. 

A decision like this is something very personal that no woman should make on her own.  Always speak to your doctor and partner.  You should be completely comfortable with your decision before going to the hospital so that you know what you want and can clearly tell the medical staff.