TRANSCRIPT OF ANSWER
Side effects with Labor analgesia will vary based upon the technique that is used. The most common technique is labor epidurals, the most common side effect of a labor. Epidural is a sensation of numbness, which although that is the desired effect, other parts of your body do become numb beyond just your abdomen and peritoneal area such as your legs and sometimes even your lower chest. It’s important that people are aware that a labor epidural doesn’t just make your belly numb because it also makes it so you cannot walk safely, so once you have a labor epidural place, generally you’re going to be asked to stay in bed so that you don’t have a risk of falling and hurting yourself or your baby. Another common side effect of labor epidurals is nausea. There are medications that are used to reduce this risk, but in fact, it does still occur. The third side effects related to labor epidurals would be a decrease in blood pressure. For this reason, your labor nurse will closely monitor your blood pressure once an epidural is placed to make sure that it stays in a safe range to provide adequate blood flow to you and your baby. As the epidurals been in place for a longer period of time, they will reduce the frequency at which they monitor your blood pressure. So overall, it’s important to be aware of the most common side effects from labor epidurals, those being, a decrease in blood pressure, numbness and other parts of your body, and nausea.
