An Anesthesiologist Learns the ‘Facts’ about Epidurals in Childbirth Class

An anesthesiologist loses it when his childbirth class instructor provides misinformation about epidurals

By Jeffrey Swisher, MD

My wife Dana and I found out we were expecting our first child in the final months of my anesthesia residency in 1993. We were simultaneously inundated with good wishes and overwhelmed by more experienced friends with advice on how to prepare for the big da

For such a milestone event (and its inciting cause) that has been such a critical part of all of human history, one would think from the explosion of pregnancy books, and women’s magazine articles that the last generation or two practically invented it!

As an anesthesiologist, I can confidently say that over these same generations we certainly have made the process a lot more comfortable. Unfortunately, because some people just won’t let others live their own lives, the topic of pain relief in labor is no stranger to controversy. No less an authority than the Holy Book itself makes this abundantly clear in Genesis 3:16 (New Living Bible):

“To the women he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children.”