Spinal and epidural anesthesia for childbirth

Spinal and epidural pain relief methods are used to block pain from an entire region of the body. They use numbing medicine given near the spinal cord. They can be used for either a vaginal birth or a cesarean delivery (C-section). They partly or fully numb your belly and lower body.

You may need to sit up and curl your body forward to round your lower back. Or you'll lie on your side and curl your knees up to your chest.

You'll get a shot to numb the skin on your back. Then the doctor or nurse will put a needle into the numbed area. For a spinal, you'll get a shot of numbing medicine near your spinal cord. For an epidural, usually a thin tube (catheter) is inserted through the needle into the space next to the spinal cord. Then the needle is removed, and the tube stays in your back to supply the numbing medicine. Sometimes spinal and epidural anesthesia are combined.