I want to have children but i have a low tolerance of pain?!


Question:

I want to have children but i have a low tolerance of pain?

I am terribly scared of needles and have extremely low tolerance of pain. I know most times nurses insert I.V through the veins of the hands. I wonder can they insert it in the arms instead and can they give something to reduce the pain of the insertion of the needle into the vein in the arm? How is getting an epidural? Is it painful? How about if I needed a c section? do they still insert the need through the hand or can they do it in the arm? How do they administer anasethia? Please help and references and sources are helpful


Answers:

I work in Labor and Delivery, as a Certified Surgical Technologist in a large metropolitan Hospital. Our unit has 3 operating rooms of our own, for doing C-sections, among other things. I work in those OR's. IV insertion can be done in a number of places, but on a personal level, I have found that the ones inserted in the back of the hand are MUCH less painful, both at insertion and after it's in, than those done at what's called the AC or antecubital space, which is in the bend of your elbow. You have much more freedom of movement with it in the back of your hand than you do in the elbow, as well as generally less pain while it's there. The actual needle is not left in your vein - it's a small softer plastic catheter that is left behind when it's in. There are ways to do it to minimize any pain you might feel, including a cream that's put on the area a while before the IV is done, BUT, sometimes that cream is contraindicated depending on what's going to be going through your IV. Another good way to do it is to take a VERY tiny needle and inject a small amount of numbing medication, such as Lidocaine, in the skin just before the IV is placed. It cuts down a great deal on any discomfort you might feel.
Epidurals carry with them some element of discomfort, and a lot of that depends on the skill of your anesthesiologist who is placing it. Typically, the first part involves injecting your skin, and the tissues below that with Lidocaine or something similar. This does hurt some, sort of like getting numbed at the dentist, but in a different place - but not for more than a few seconds. Generally, that is the worst pain of the procedure, although experiences can vary. The rest of the procedure generally involves a sensation of pressure where the doctor is working, but not pain.
A C-section carries with it the post operative pain of healing the incision, and generally a LOT of pressure at the point where the baby is being delivered through the incision, which is not made long enough for the baby to fall out - it's generally smaller than that, and requires pressure at the top of your abdomen to get the baby out. Because the uterus is muscular and will stretch a lot (look at how much it stretches just to hold the baby while you're pregnant!) the incision is small, and it stretches when the baby comes out and then shrinks back down again. Too large of an incision in the uterus could require you to have a C-section from then on for future babies. Mostly it depends on why you need a C-section in the first place. At our hospital, if you have not had an epidural yet, and a C-section becomes necessary, we do a spinal anesthetic in the Operating Room. This is similar to an epidural in where it's placed, but it does not involve leaving the small tube in place in your back. The numbing medicine is injected in your back, like an epidural, and then a different kind of needle is used to get to the space in your spine that they use to inject the numbing medication for the surgery. The needle is then removed. You should be numb from just under the breast area to your toes, and it tends to work very quickly, and last as long as most C-sections should take.
General anesthetic is not used routinely, or on request of the mother anymore. ONLY IF it is an emergency of some kind, then they will do a General, but that is only for emergencies. when the baby is in trouble, and it is necessary to have the baby born as quickly as possible. The reason for this is that the drugs used in a General Anesthetic for the mother go to the baby too before it's born, and they need to do it very quickly after you go to sleep to keep that to a minimum. Everything that needs to be done to prep you before the surgery is done while you are still awake, none of it painful though, and the General anesthetic isn't started until you are completely draped and ready to go, the surgeons are standing there and ready to get the baby out. Then you go to sleep and they go to work right away. But remember - this is only done in emergency situations.
Probably the best thing you could do for yourself though, is since you're apparently not pregnant at this point in time is to find a counselor who can work with you and help you deal with your fear of needles and low pain tolerance in advance. Fear most often comes from not knowing what's coming, or constantly imagining the worst possible outcome, and is most generally overcome by education. The more you know, the more comfortable you will be. It will be easier on you in the long run, if you can do that first. Going in the hospital room door in labor is not the time to begin. All that will do is make the whole experience much more traumatic for you than it needs to be. "Living with it" or trying to wait until after the baby is born so you can "forget about it" is hardly a proactive way to deal with the situation, and can take what could be a very positive experience for you and your husband and turn it into a very fearful, negative, frustrating, and emotionally traumatic experience for all involved. Labor and Delivery nurses are generally all wonderful, caring, talented nurses that can help you to an extent, but doing that kind of counseling when you're dealing with labor pains isn't the most efficient or effective way to do it.
Hope this has been somewhat helpful for you. Please feel free to contact me via email (LuvGeorgeH @ yahoo.com) if you have more questions. Best wishes!




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