Walking Epidural

Just check into it thoroughly with your caregiver. As I understand, it is the same as a regular epidural (same risks, catheter to your spine and no walking/moving), but a lower dose. Not moving does limit your ability to manage your own labor, and increase the risk of interventions like pitocin (which often causes harder, more painful contractions), episiotomies, forceps and c-sections. There are lots of other pain management alternatives--lots of women love to labor in water, too--they call it an "aquadural" because it's so effective. Having a birth assistant (doula) who can teach you the best positions for each type of labor really helps--studies show doulas promote better outcomes. There really are non-narcotic tricks for every kind of contraction, if you're interested in moving about during labor.

Personally, I thought my labors were HARD work and very uncomfortable, but I never really wanted to be numbed. I loved pushing my babies out!

Good luck--just do lots of research!

It's not any less 'invasive' it just uses, as others have mentioned, less medicine or a controlled amount.

Hi S.,

A walking epidural is a bit of a misnomer since most (I don't know of any in the NJ area, and I have assisted many laboring women in NJ) hospitals don't allow a woman to walk once an epidural has been administered.

Some hospitals now offer an epidural where the amount of pain med can be contolled by the laboring woman by pushing a button. A "walking epidural" would have a lower amount of narcotic than a standard epidural, but walking would probably not be allowed.

Good luck!

No idea if they still do it... but I had one in 1999. I did not really get up and walk around, but it was controlled and didn't numb a huge section of me or numbed less than a full one or something-- I have no idea. I just know that it helped tremendously to have an epidural-- any kind-- with the contractions-- but then I was able to feel when it was time to push. Probably very helpful for the doctor and the baby that I could help push, but BOY was it painful!!