I got an epidural for all three of my births – none of them worked as expected

Here’s what you should know before getting an epidural – and why it might not provide full pain relief as expected

The first time I got an epidural, it was too late.

I’d heard it was best to wait, for fear the medication would run out mid-labor (I later found out this is a myth). So I gritted my teeth through hours of contractions, and when I finally told the nurses I was ready, the anesthesiologist was with another patient.

Another unbearable hour passed before I finally got the medication. But by then, I was minutes away from pushing. I went through the final stage of labor feeling almost everything.

When I had my second baby, I got my epidural right away, but it made me incredibly itchy. Throughout 24 hours of labor, I scratched and wiggled so much that the epidural catheter, which administers the numbing medication, fell out, was put back in, fell out again, and wore off by the time I was ready to deliver.