Why do patients in labor still have sensation after an epidural is placed?
The concentration and quantity of local anesthetic given in an epidural is dosed to eliminate the sharp pain of labor contraction while maintaining enough muscle strength to help push with delivery (but not walk). This means that the epidural is not dosed to full strength and that the pressure sensation of your contraction (not the sharp pain) will remain and can actually intensify as labor progresses. Even at full strength, patients will still feel light touch when stimulated. In some cases, sharp pain may actually return after a period of pain relief; this usually means that the epidural needs to be re-dosed to get back to a good level of pain control. If you experience no significant improvement in your pain at all after the epidural is placed, it may not be in the right position, and the procedure may need to be repeated. Sometimes, patients only get “numb” on one side. There could be a number of reasons for this, but it may be due to ligaments in your back that prevent the medicat
