Re: Lack of Epidural
In Islamabad, Medics offer epidural and charge Rs. 10,000 for it alone.
My doctor said its like the same as taking (numbing) injection for tooth extraction OR extracting teeth without taking injection. Don’t know if ppl agree or not, but it did make sense to me 
Good Luck!
Re: Lack of Epidural
The big difference is that this injection is given in the spine and not your gums.
Re: Lack of Epidural
why is it not an option ?
Demesene, the epidural is not inserted the spine (that is a SPINAL anesthesia). Epidural is done in the layer outside the spinal canal so it has least side effects as compared to spinal which is not even needed in a normal delivery. C-sections are done in spinal though. The plus point is if the labour doesnt proceed good, an epidural can be relied upon or converted into a spinal one for a c-section so you can avoid the intubation and general anesthesia.
I, being an (ex)anaesthetist, knew I CANNOT EVER go without it. everyone has and knows about his/her pain threshold more than anyone else. I find it stupid when people say ‘oh,I did good without it and so should you’ ! :halo: It does slow down the progression of labour a bit but still worth it. With my first one, the labour was slow (poor) to begin and progress so what I did was got an epidural catheter inserted in the back,got a minimal dose so some pain receptors are blocked without any effect on the progression of labour and then got a full dose while pushing and it worked perfect Alhamdulillah.
Re: Lack of Epidural
I hope you end up with the option of getting one when you deliver. (inshallah)
Re: Lack of Epidural
oh and someone even told me I’ll get less sawaab during childbirth because more sawaab is associated with the labour pains and since I had lesser pains, I missed more sawaab :halo:
Re: Lack of Epidural
A question to US guppans. How much money do they charge in US for epidural?
Re: Lack of Epidural
Here is my second hand knowledge:
You get choices but it doesn’t always mean things go to plan. Two of the choices here are giving birth in a hospital ward with epidural or giving birth in a midwife run birthing center attached to the hospital (so if anyone goes wrong, you can immediately have the extra care).
Now this is completely anecdotal, but of all my cousins who did not have complications and therefore require c-sections, the ones who had always planned for a natural birth and chosen the birthing centers, had much shorter labours and overall less traumatic experience.
One of my cousins, both times she went into labour early and even though she had wanted epidurals from the beginning, the anesthetist wasn’t available or they said it was too late. She then had to go through a natural birth completely unprepared in a setting not conducive to it at all. No one was telling her what was going on, she had restrictions on when and who could be in the room. Seeing her afterwards and hearing what she went through puts me off having kids ever.
Contrast this to the two who had natural births… they did most of their labour at home… delivered in the hospital birthing unit within two hours of being there. Tearing and such was much less of an issue, and they recovered a lot quicker. Either they were hiding it really well, or it was just a lot less traumatic.
Now, I know your in Pak, so I don’t know if you go for a natural birth if you will get the same atmosphere and support.
I don’t know what I’d do. The thought of pain scares me much less than tearing all over the shop and being off my feet and in pain for weeks after though.
Re: Lack of Epidural
My first birth, I had contractions for 4 days, 2 days at home and 2 days at the ward in the hospital. I was not progressing, I was told to take warm baths, walk and take stairs but nothing happened. In the end, they gave me drips to processed and man that was painful that I asked and was given the epidural and still it took 8 hours before I gave birth and was I grateful of the epidural, YOU BET!
Re: Lack of Epidural
some hospitals really do not offer the epi. I gave birth in a birthing centre where they do not offer it, i chose to do it without an epi and I was fine without it. If I really wanted one they would have trasported me to another hospital to give me one.
Re: Lack of Epidural
well when I started 34tth week, my doc herself told me all pain relieving methods, n she asked me to chose from it , n of course I opted for epidural, and she entered in my file this epidural thing in case if I come in emergency she is present or not, doctors know wht to do, since I started bleeding first and then water bag burst n no pain n contractions, my own doc was absent (she came bit late) n doc on duty asked me before inducing me whether I want epidural first n then inducing the labour or should labour be introduced n then if I needed epidural they can give me, n I opted for epidural first then inducton and I have no regrets because at the time of pushing I was all comfortable n was able to put effort for pushing. the whole process from epidural to pushing baby was 6 hours.
Re: Lack of Epidural
I am not sure about the cost but insurance covers it. Your co-payment to the hospital stays the same whether you get an epidural or not.
Re: Lack of Epidural
anywhere from $1200-$2000. But like Sajalina said, most people never really see/pay that individual cost cause it’s paid by your medical insurance minus your deductible/copay.
That being said, I have been on the fighting end with anastheliogy bills from various surgeries/procedures I’ve had and rest assured, it is expensive! I once got a $1900 anesthesia bill from a D&C because the anastheliogy that was on duty was “out of network”.
Re: Lack of Epidural
They billed our healthcare insurance close to $3000 for the epidural 
Re: Lack of Epidural
im working hard on getting it! at least i need the option!
Re: Lack of Epidural
I’m so happy you wrote this. This is the #1 reason the docs at hubby’s work strongly encourage epidural UNLESS everything about the labor is absolutely textbook perfect which is rare. Otherwise, in case they have to do a c-section due to complications, they’ll have to put the woman under general if she didn’t get the epidural on time…and they want to avoid doing that at all costs. I don’t think many women are aware of this (ie. that they’ll be under general in case of a emergency).
Re: Lack of Epidural
Average is $1000-$2000 but the rate varies. With any type of anesthesia (including epidural), time makes a big difference. So someone requiring anesthesia for 3 hours…versus someone needing it for 10 hours…the $$$ will vary greatly. Since you’re being observed the entire time while under anesthesia, they charge for that time…in addition to facility charges and charges for how many units of the medicine they needed.
But as mentioned already, the insurance co-pay for the patient remains the same regardless of how much the hospital is billing the insurance company.
Re: Lack of Epidural
i did write an option for epidural in my birthplan…
but i was doing good and was trying my best to stay relax and at peace…couldnt bear the pain when 8cm and wanted an epi…
but my gyn discouraged by saying that i’m doing great…and everything is normal…epi will delay my delivery which can be done very soon…
i really wanted the baby out of me as soon as possible so i didnt took epi…30 more minutes passed to enter 10cm dilation and delivered the baby in just 1hour…
Re: Lack of Epidural
In UK, soon it will be near impossible to get an epidural. They discourage you from taking it not because they care about your best interest but because they want to save money to NHS. Just like every time your GP denies you proper medication and tells you take paracetamol no matter how much you’re suffering.
We’re not paying you taxes for paracetamol. Same goes for their schools. Suckers.
Re: Lack of Epidural
^ Haina Hareem? That’s what I am trying hard to figure out. Are they wanting to save on the money? Cos I will drop the dough! Just give me the option!
Re: Lack of Epidural
Okay now don’t scare me 
.. All these cases of UK births I hear that they let you die in pain and don’t opt for Epidural or C-section scare the hell out of me. I am continuously considering, when ever in future I have a baby, I am keeping Pakistan as an option too.