Epidural anaesthesia

An epidural is an injection that numbs the lower half of your body. This includes your abdomen (stomach), pelvic area and legs.

An epidural can either:

• stop you feeling any pain (analgesia), or
• stop you feeling any sensation at all (anaesthetic).

The epidural anaesthesia is a form of medication that is carefully injected by a specialist into the ‘epidural space’ in your spine. The medication blocks the nerve roots in your spine that lead to the lower part of your body. This numbs the area.

The extent of the numbness depends upon the type of anaesthesia medication that the specialist uses and how much they inject. The feeling in your body returns completely once the medication has worn off.

Glossary

Epidural

An epidural is an anaesthetic injection given into the epidural space that surrounds the spinal cord, especially during labour, to numb the lower half

Anaesthetic

Anaesthetic is a drug used to either numb a part of the body (local), or to put a patient to sleep (general) during surgery

Pain

is an unpleasant physical or emotional feeling that your body produces as a warning sign that it has been damaged