How soon can you get an epidural ?

Most health care professionals will like you  to get an epidural when you are in active labor. This means waiting until you’re about 4 to 5 centimeters dilated with regular contractions. There is concern that epidural may slow down contractions.

If you’re having pain early on in labor and want to put off getting an epidural, you can get some pain medications  or tranquilizer through an IV.  This may make you sleepy so you need to stay in bed.

Is it ever too late to get an epidural ?

It’s never too late unless the baby’s head is crowing. It takes about 15 minutes to place the catheter and another 20 minutes to get the full effect. However there is another option if its too late to get it.  You can get a spinal block which takes 5 minutes to place and another 5 minutes to get the full effect. You will get pain relief that will last a few hours.

You could also opt for a combined  spinal/epidural. This will give you 10 minutes of  complete relief from the spinal and the epidural will be there if labor happens to last for more than  a few hours or if you ever need a cesarean. You have to know that not all anesthesiologist are comfortable doing this .

Your heath care team will not recommend asking for pain relief if they think you will deliver your baby soon. They believe the reduced sensation will make it difficult for you to push your baby out and increase your risk of needing a vacuum extraction or forceps delivery.

Your  anesthesiologist may also decide it is too risky  to place the needle when you cannot remain still during contractions.  However most women are able  to hold still during labor and the health care team can warn the anesthesiologist when a contraction is coming on.