5 Things Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Your Epidural

Almost all expectant mothers consider their top priority to be the safe delivery of a healthy baby. If you’re pregnant or have had a baby, you’ve probably experienced the almost overwhelming biological urge to care for and protect your child.

Of course, many women are still concerned about their own comfort during labor, and since epidurals are commonly considered safe beyond question, many expecting mothers plan on having them. It is your doctor’s responsibility to inform you of all potential epidural risks, but sadly some medical professionals fail to do so. This can leave you and other mothers makings decisions that could harm you or your baby.

What You Need to Know

Epidurals can have the following dangerous side effects:

• Your blood pressure could drop dangerously low, causing the baby to receive insufficient oxygen. This could also lead to serious complications for you.
• You could experience respiratory distress, which could put you and your baby at risk.
• Epidurals may interfere with your body’s normal hormonal response to labor, making your reactions slower, putting the baby at risk, and possibly necessitating surgical intervention.
• You could experience many side effects yourself, including extreme headaches and ongoing issues with urinary or fecal incontinence.
• You could be among women that experience the rarer side effects of epidurals, including respiratory or cardiac arrest, convulsions, or death.

Epidurals are used so frequently that doctors can fail to detail these risks to expectant mothers. Don’t let this oversight leave you and your baby in danger during this special time for your family.

Contact Us

If you had an epidural during labor and you or your baby was harmed during the birthing process, contact the Philadelphia birth injury lawyers of Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C. at 215-238-1130 today.