Many parents are confused about (or are not aware of) the differences between a spinal and an epidural anaesthetic. The differences are important to understand, as their effects and side effects can be dissimilar and may influence your decision to accept one method over another (if you have the choice).
Epidurals and spinals are both forms of what is called 'regional anaesthesia'. This means they prevent pain sensations from being felt in a 'region' of the body, in this case, the lower half of the body. Both procedures are aimed at preventing pain sensations from being perceived by the woman during a Caesarean operation and both require that a long, hollow needle be placed between two of the backbones in the woman's lower spine using either 'local' types of anaesthetics and / or narcotic drugs. After this they start to differ.
The differences are:
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The actual place in the body that the anaesthetic medication is injected into, |
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The amount and strength of medication(s) needed to obtain an adequate level of pain relief, and |
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If a fine, plastic catheter is left in place to give further pain relieving medications once the needle is removed (or to enable a continuous infusion of pain relieving medications to be given after the birth). |
These factors affect:
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How long it takes for the medications to work, |
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The possible side effects the procedure can have, |
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How long it takes before the medication wears off, and |
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If more medication can be given after the first dose wears off. |