[ozmidwifery] Re cold epidurals

[Alesa Koziol]

We have experienced a few cold epidurals over the past 18 months prior to Prostin. I can hear the collective outrage simmering on that facet of this practice- trust me when I say that every single midwife in my workplace felt exactly the same. However the deed was done so to speak prior to the woman attending the hospital, it was all arranged between the woman and her OB, we never ever got a good explanation form the OB for one of them but for the others there were histories of sexual abuse in the past, and multis who had previous precipitate labours following prostin induction. The sexual abuse case raised ethical issues,  that if not resolved enough to cope with labour  from a humane point of view a cold epidural became a  valid reason for assisting a woman to birth vaginally using no sensation- which is still better than potential damage to both mother and babe via a C/S. I still grapple with the concept but can see justifications when the whole picture is looked at Cheers Alesa   Alesa Koziol Clinical Midwifery Educator Melbourne