Ali Fedotowsky's Epidural Stopped Working

Three weeks into motherhood, Ali Fedotowsky is loving every minute of it. But her 20-hour labor? That, she could have done without.

"It is so funny because you go through all of this pain—and the most excruciating pain you can possibly imagine—and a few days later you are holding your beautiful baby, and you’re like, ‘I could do this again,’” The Bachelorette star tells Us Weekly. She welcomed her first child, Molly, with fiance Kevin Manno on July 6.

Fedotowsky explains that her epidural was largely ineffective.

“It didn’t work on half of my body, and it stopped working three different times during my labor,” she says.

While epidurals are effective 98 to 99 percent of the time, improper insertion can lead to a painful experience. Epidural medication is delivered through a tiny catheter in your back to the spinal cord, which contains all the nerves that connect to your lower body. The combination of a numbing medicine and a pain reliever medication is supposed to prevent pain impulses from reaching your brain.

Because Fedotowsky says only half of her body was numbed, improper catheter placement was likely the culprit. Inadequate dosages of anaesthetics can also contribute to a faulty epidural.

Luckily, Fedotowsky was already a pro at pain management. Before giving birth, she opened up to The Bump about her experience with severe Braxton Hicks contractions.

“I get them all day, every day—sometimes over 10 an hour,” she said at week 37. “The way I describe them is it’s like getting lightly pinched on your arm. The first pinch isn’t bad, just uncomfortable, and the same goes for the next 10 pinches. But then imagine being pinched in the same spot 50 times; those pinches would go from uncomfortable to painful. Just the other day they were so bad I thought I might be in labor, but my doctor assured me I wasn’t.”

While pregnancy and labor were certainly difficult, it seems that so far, parenthood is smooth sailing.

“The most surprising part is how easily everything comes,” she tells Us. "Before, I didn’t understand how to hold a baby, how to pick up a baby, how to move a baby. And with Molly it all just comes so naturally.”

Please note: The Bump and the materials and information it contains are not intended to, and do not constitute, medical or other health advice or diagnosis and should not be used as such. You should always consult with a qualified physician or health professional about your specific circumstances.