alexist

I saw the consultant anaesthetist because I'd said I might want an epidural. She explained the risks (nothing I didn't know), a bit more about the procedure, and had a look at my back. Which isn't brilliant for giving an epidural--apparently, the more bones they can see and feel, the easier it is. I have never, even at my thinnest, had a bony back (you always had to press to feel my spine), so with the extra weight it must be a real pain. She did say it would be OK, it just might take a couple of tries and/or require someone more senior. (Of course, they pretty much HAVE to be able to do an epidural if necessary unless you have a clotting disorder or something else that completely contraindicates it--they prefer to do C-sections that way unless there's no time, and in that case the first preference is for a spinal block rather than a general. So I think this was more about being prepared, and warning me that it might not be easy.)

The good news is that Barnet do mobile epidurals, which I'd been hoping for--you can move round (she said most women don't actually want to get up and walk, though I didn't think I would. I just liked the idea of being able to shift position, etc). There's also less risk of complications and a blood pressure drop.

Interesting comment: she mentioned that epidurals are correlated with an extended first stage and/or intervention (forceps, ventouse) which I knew, but she said that the current thinking is that it's not a causative link. Instead, there's something wrong with the labour in the first place, which makes the women more likely to opt for an epidural and then to need assistance. Obviously I'm not qualified to evaluate that, but I had been slightly worried that an epidural would drag things out and it was nice to hear that it might not be true.

Oh, and I've heard of the post-epidural headache: from what she was explaining, nasty headaches are from accidental dural taps, so if it's done right, should be no problem.

I am, however, sick of going to Barnet Hospital... and I have to go again on Monday! (And I was running late today so of course the buses were uncooperative :-P)

I have scoffed down an entire packet of Jaffa Cakes. Why is it impossible to eat just one, or even just a few, Jaffa Cakes?

(PS, "1g of fat per cake", ha ha ha, who eats one? It should be "15g per tube" because that's the actual portion size. :) )

(I'm sure my weather widget is lying: it says it's 11C. Feels much colder to me...)

Today's 2nd leader in the Independent (sorry, costs £1 to read the full article and I can't be arsed to type it up just now) was about the Madonna interview on Newsnight. By all accounts it was a complete soft-soap and totally unworthy of Newsnight (maybe they should have set Paxman loose on her, though from the sound of it, Madonna would never have allowed that). The Indy wasn't pleased and accused the BBC of pandering to celebrity. :)

Personally (in my Grumpy Old Woman and Intellectual Snob persona) I think it's just another example of dumbing down at the BBC. They're cutting Panorama to half an hour, the current series of Horizon is a joke, and even BBC4 isn't what it used to be because the management is concerned about ratings.

While we're on the topic, today I confessed to Neil that I have a crush on Jeremy Paxman. He's deeply concerned.