Did anyone else’s epidural not work?

Yes! Only they tried mine 3 times over my 28hr labour and none of them worked!!

No idea if it’s the same sort of thing as anaesthesia but if you maybe have red hair? I’ve heard about anaesthesia not working on red heads? Xxxx

Mine didn’t work and when I told the midwife it was too much she called an got it replaced. The second work like a charm

Sort of.. Mine stopped working halfway through, I stupidly assumed it “only did so much” when it came to pain haha I remember thinking Jesus, imagine how painful this would be without the epidural… 😂 turns out it had just come out 🤦‍♀️

Did anyone check it at the time?

Mine first fell out then had to be replaced. Then stopped working and was told by the anaesthetist that it was because I was sat too upright, once I reclined after about 30 mins it kicked in again

Yes! It did nothing for the pain, it only made my legs go numb so I couldn't move at all. I would never say yes to it again

I’m so sorry that happened to you ❤️ it’s never easy going through something for the first time as it’s impossible to know what’s normal.

Mine worked really well for about 10h and then all of a sudden stopped working altogether. I was taken to theatre and had a spin block for labor.

My docs and midwives seemed surprised that it stopped working though so I don’t think it’s normal … however, based on the poll results, it seems to be more common than I realized.

Good luck with your 2nd x

I had read up on this some time ago.

A small percentage of women do not respond well to the choice of drug used in the epidural. So in that case you may need a different medication in your epidural. If you were able to feel your lower body after the epidural you should let them know immediately so they could correct it, please do not suffer through agony.

Another reason could have also been misplacement, usually due to lack of experience, and the anesthetic was injected it in the wrong place, rendering it ineffective.

Had my second girl 3 days ago. Worked only on one side but the other side hurt. I had too many top ups and felt out of control over my body but the pain was still present.

Yes I had 2 failed epidurals with my first baby, they didn’t take unfortunately no matter how many attempts to try and re position them. My twin sister had the same thing happen so it must run in the family 😂Ended up with a spinal block as I ended up with a forceps delivery xxx

Mine only kicked in when they were stitching me back up. With my second I didn’t have one, it was too late haha but I’m really glad I didn’t. The recovery was much easier. With my first I had horrible back pain following the epidural. I have extremely fast labours though so that makes it easier.