Am I doomed to another another failed epidural the next time I have a baby?
Having a baby the size of yours (>9 lbs.) is one of the risk factors for Gestational Diabetes, and you might want to be evaluated for that now (because it can persist after pregnancy) and during any future pregnancy. As for your question, whether the size of your baby could have caused your epidural not to work as well as it should, I’ll offer you an explanation as to how it could that you ought to view with skepticism. If you did have GD or any other form of diabetes during this pregnancy, you were probably chronically or periodically hyperglycemic; your body could have responded by producing more cortisol, because “Cortisol indirectly induces insulin secretion to counterbalance hyperglycemia but also decreases insulin sensitivity” (from Adrenal Crisis). But cortisol is produced by the adrenal glands as part of a cocktail of hormones which also includes adrenaline, s
