My cousin has me terrified! Are they as bad as she is making it out to be?
She said the epidural goes through the back bone into the side 🤢😰 and the pudendal block hurts 10 times worst going into the vagina!! 😰😰😰😰
MissA
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No, of course you don't have to. Many many women opt to go drug-free. There are nonpharmaceutical methods of pain relief that you can look into if that's what you want.
Your cousin is incorrect about the epidural. It does not go through your back bone, it goes into the space within the backbone. This numbs out the lower half of the body but keeps any drugs from getting to the baby.
A pudendal nerve block is usually not all *that* painful, though I never had one so I do not speak from personal experience. It's very similar to getting a novocaine injection for dental work... certainly unpleasant at first but then you go numb. I will say, though... while I never had one, I did push out a baby without one. That's what it's for, the pushing stage. And the pushing is going to hurt, regardless.
Tulip
You don't have to have either and you don't have both