Disadvantages of Epidural anaesthesia

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Epidural anaesthesia is a safe and reliable method of pain relief. However, there can be some side effects:

During labour, epidural anaesthetic can make the contractions less strong. This means labour can take longer because it is harder to feel when you should push. Your midwife may have to tell you when to push.
In a full epidural, some women canâ€™t use the pelvic muscles â€“ they are temporarily paralysed. This makes it less likely for the babyâ€™s head to turn forwards, and the doctor may have to help you deliver the baby using forceps or ventouse suction.
Your blood pressure is likely to fall. This is treated with drugs or by giving fluids through a drip. Your blood pressure will be regularly checked during the procedure.
Some people have back pain that lasts for weeks or months after an epidural in the area where the injection was given. This sometimes happens because the back muscles relax after the epidural anaesthetic has been inserted. If you had the epidural during labour, remember that back pain is a common side effect of child birth in general.
You may have a headache when you sit or stand up that can last for a week. This happens if the epidural needle nicks the covering of the spinal cord, causing a small leak of fluid from around the cord.
Sometimes the anaesthetic doesnâ€™t spread equally around the spinal cord, meaning that one half of the body is more numb that the other. A top-up dose can usually sort this out.
Some of the drugs used for epidurals can causes itchiness. The anaesthetist can change the drug to deal with this.