Michelle Haziza is overwhelmed with joy at the arrival of her baby boy. But, at first, during the early stages of labor, she was overwhelmed with pain. “The pain was just so bad, it was unbearable, that I couldn’t handle it,” says Michelle.
As a first time mom, Michelle says initially, she was hesitant to get an epidural. But, writhing in pain, she acquiesced. “All those myths, everything that I hear, nothing was true, nothing was true. It was a 100 million times better than I thought it would be,” says Michelle.

According to Dr. Gilbert Grant, Director of Obstetric Anesthesia at NYU Medical Center, many women like Michelle are misinformed about their pain relief options during labor.
“There are a lot of myths about epidurals out there, the myth that really gets me the most is the one – you can’t have the epidural until you’re a certain number dilated. Unfortunately, a lot of people have bought into that, but there’s no good data to support it,” says Dr. Grant.
Epidurals numb the nerves that go to the uterus. They also work to numb the nerves that transmit pain signals to the brain. “You should really consider having the epidural early, before the severe pain begins,” contends Dr. Grant.
Dr. Grant administers what’s called, the walking epidural. Unlike the epidural of years ago, where the epidural completely immobilized the woman’s lower body, the walking epidural relieves pain, but preserves pelvic and abdominal muscle tone which is helpful in pushing the baby out.
In his new book, “Enjoy Your Labor,” Dr. Grant dispells
common myths including: “One, that you have to wait until a certain dilation of the cervix, two, it’s bad for the baby, three, it’s dangerous, four that epidurals cause an increase in c-sections,” says Dr. Grant.
For Michelle, she can’t imagine delivering without an epidural. She was able to feel enough pressure to push but without pain. “When I was having my contractions before my epidural, I was saying more than one kid I am not having, not with this, I can’t do it. After I gave birth and he came out I said, I’m ready again, I can do it again, it was so easy, non-painful, it was amazing.”
In 2002, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists issued a position on epidurals stating that unless there was a safety issue which would prevent a woman from getting an epidural, women should not be denied receiving one at any stage of labor. Some hospitals delay an epidural until a woman reaches 4-5 cm of dilation because some studies indicate that giving one early in labor increases the need for cesarean delivery.

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