This is what it feels like to get an epidural after 32 hours of labor
Pregnancy is exciting. And babies are wonderful! But rarely do new moms open up to discuss the truly unimaginable pain of giving birth once they're sitting comfortably with their little bundle of joy. Meaghan O'Connell at New York magazine, however, bravely gives us a play-by-play of the horrifying pain that comes with being in labor for 32 hours before finally demanding an epidural. That epidural isn't the most pleasant thing, either:
There is something viscerally disturbing about all of this, isn't there? Can you feel the twinge in your spine? Are you about to pass out? Yeah, me too.
So they stick a big needle into your back and you jump and are sure you have just paralyzed yourself. The first needle is a shot to numb your skin and then a bigger, hollow needle goes in with a tiny tube that gets threaded into your spine. It seems like you shouldn't feel it but you still totally feel it. Or I did. [...] It felt like someone was stapling my back, but deep inside me.
Stay still, though, or else you'll be paralyzed!
I bore my eyes into Dustin, who sat on a stool in front of me, and broke a sweat, I think, from fear. I felt like I was in some kind of war. I felt like this was my moment, my big test, and I was rising to the occasion. I would save the world!
Except, in reality, I was doing the most banal thing in the world. I was giving f--king birth. [New York]
Read the rest of the story over at New York magazine.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Buddhist monks’ US walk for peaceUnder the Radar Crowds have turned out on the roads from California to Washington and ‘millions are finding hope in their journey’
-
American universities are losing ground to their foreign counterpartsThe Explainer While Harvard is still near the top, other colleges have slipped
-
How to navigate dating apps to find ‘the one’The Week Recommends Put an end to endless swiping and make real romantic connections
-
Judge rejects California’s ICE mask ban, OKs ID lawSpeed Read Federal law enforcement agents can wear masks but must display clear identification
-
Lawmakers say Epstein files implicate 6 more menSpeed Read The Trump department apparently blacked out the names of several people who should have been identified
-
Japan’s Takaichi cements power with snap election winSpeed Read President Donald Trump congratulated the conservative prime minister
-
Trump sues IRS for $10B over tax record leaksSpeed Read The president is claiming ‘reputational and financial harm’ from leaks of his tax information between 2018 and 2020
-
Trump, Senate Democrats reach DHS funding dealSpeed Read The deal will fund most of the government through September and the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks
-
Fed holds rates steady, bucking Trump pressureSpeed Read The Federal Reserve voted to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged
-
Judge slams ICE violations amid growing backlashSpeed Read ‘ICE is not a law unto itself,’ said a federal judge after the agency violated at least 96 court orders
-
Rep. Ilhan Omar attacked with unknown liquidSpeed Read This ‘small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work’
