What is an epidural?

It’s a procedure done by the anesthesiologist at the labor and delivery area and they come in at a certain time of the laboring process when the patient has been pre-treated with some IV fluids to prevent drops in blood pressure and they place a small needle in the patient’s back in a special place where they can inject some medication, an anesthetic, that will help numb those nerve endings from the waist down thus creating that relief of pain when the patient needs it most which is the birthing process.