What is Princess Birth (Epidural Normal Birth)?

It is a fact known to everyone how painful the birth process is. For this reason, giving birth with epidural anesthesia is a highly preferred method today. In epidural anesthesia, spinal cord nerve cells that receive pain signals from the lower part of the body are blocked. In epidural anesthesia, which is applied through a catheter to the space between the dural membrane around the spinal cord, the catheter is not removed during the birth and drug treatment is continued. It should not be forgotten that epidural anesthesia is not suitable for every individual and its feasibility varies depending on the condition of the mother and the baby. You can follow the rest of the article for other topics you are curious about about princess birth.

What is Princess Birth (Painless Birth)?

Princess birth refers to birth performed with regional anesthesia applied epidurally. Anesthetic agents help prevent a person from perceiving the sensation of pain. In regional epidural anesthesia, the person loses sensation from the waist down.

Why is it called Princess Birth?

The pain during birth is quite severe. Thanks to the epidural anesthesia applied during epidural normal birth, the pain level is much lower than normal birth. Births that are less painful in this way are presented as “princess birth” due to a pattern that has developed over time in society.

What is Epidural Normal Birth?

Epidural normal birth describes the birth of a child normally vaginally by an expectant mother whose pain sensation is stopped with epidural anesthesia. Epidural gets its name from the injection of the anesthetic agent into the epidural space. The epidural space is the space between the thick and protective membrane of the spinal cord, called the dura membrane, and the spinal cord. Blocking the nerves in the spinal cord with an anesthetic drug prevents the transmission of the pain sensation in the lower part of the person’s body to the brain.

Who is Not Suitable for Epidural Normal Birth?

Epidural normal birth, which is preferred by many expectant mothers, can be a very risky practice for some individuals. Some of the situations that may require epidural normal birth not to be preferred are as follows:

• Use of drugs that have blood thinning properties
• Low number of platelet cells responsible for clotting
• low blood pressure
• In cases where excessive bleeding occurs
• In the presence of active infection

How is Epidural Normal Birth Performed?

Epidural anesthesia is applied to the spinal cord region in the lumbar region by anesthesiologists. In this procedure, a local anesthetic drug is injected into the space between the spinal cord and the membrane, and the signals of the nerve cells in this area are interrupted and the patient begins to be unable to feel anything below the waist. It is very important to adjust the drug level correctly. Thanks to properly adjusted anesthesia, expectant mothers do not feel pain but remain at a level where they can perceive the contractions that occur.

Epidural anesthesia can be applied at any time during normal birth. However, some health institutions and physicians favor applying epidural anesthesia only after reaching a certain stage of birth. The reason for this situation is that various studies indicate that the application of epidural anesthesia in the early stages of labor may cause a delaying effect on birth (2).

What are the Benefits of Epidural Normal Birth?

Epidural anesthesia, which provides nerve blockade, and anesthetics in normal birth control the pain that occurs during birth. Epidural anesthesia is also a preferred method for back pain caused by reasons such as sciatica or arm and leg pain caused by spinal nerve root damage. The time from the application of epidural anesthesia until the person loses feeling between the belly button and the upper leg area is roughly 15 minutes (4).

Epidural anesthesia is the most effective method for controlling pain during child birth. At the same time, it is frequently preferred because it has a minimal side effect profile for both child and maternal health. Individuals who receive epidural anesthesia, which acts very quickly, can complete the process without feeling very little or no pain during birth.

The absence of pain during birth also gives the person more time to rest after this process. This is considered very useful, especially in long labors. The absence of pain and the person being able to rest more comfortably can help make the childbearing experience more positive.

With epidural anesthesia, people can actively participate in the birth process in a more concentrated way because it is painless.

Various studies indicate that childbearing with epidural anesthesia may reduce the risk of developing mental disorders such as postpartum depression, which may develop after this process (1). However, it should not be forgotten that studies on this subject are still in their early stages and there are also studies in the literature that claim the opposite.

Another advantage of epidural normal birth is that anesthesia can be applied at any time. In necessary cases, even if a decision is made to give up normal birth and have a cesarean section, the medication will continue to be administered and the person will be able to follow these processes with awareness.

What are the Risk Factors for Epidural Normal Birth?

Epidural normal birth may also bring with it some risk factors. Some of these situations are:

• Itching
• Shake
• difficulty urinating
• Pain in the waist and back area in the first few days after birth

Although rare, more serious side effects may occur in addition to the conditions mentioned above. These situations are briefly as follows:

• Nausea
• Fire
• Vomiting
• Dizziness
• dizziness
• Headache
• Acceleration in heart rate
• Shortness of breath

Epidural normal birth may have an effect on some individuals, preventing them from feeling the contractions and preventing them from pushing. In these cases, procedures such as the use of forceps or cesarean delivery may be required. Epidural anesthesia applications also cause a sudden drop in blood pressure. Having normal blood pressure during birth is very important in order for the baby not to be deprived of oxygen until birth. If such a change is detected during regular blood pressure monitoring, the need for oxygen, fluid and medication support may arise.

If you feel any of the symptoms listed above during birth, it is very important to inform your doctor about this situation.

Although very rare, epidural anesthesia may have some long-term complications. Some of these potential complications include:

• Permanent damage to the spinal cord and nerves
• Problems with breathing
• Permanent feeling of numbness and tingling

Although catheter placement and birth itself are among the causes of developing back pain, some individuals may complain of long-term back pain after epidural anesthesia applications. Cases in which permanent nerve damage develops occur in approximately 1/240000 of epidural anesthesia applications (5).

Epidural applications are the most frequently preferred type of anesthesia during birth to control the feeling of pain. It is administered by the anesthesiologist by administering numbing drugs through small catheters placed in the lower back or waist area. Epidural vaginal birth is generally considered low risk and allows most individuals to be pain-free during labor. Despite these benefits, epidural normal birth also has some risks.

It is recommended that you contact healthcare institutions and consult specialist physicians regarding other issues you are wondering about epidural normal birth, such as what precautions can be taken against these problems such as headache, low blood pressure, urination problems and back pain. We wish you healthy days.