Multiple Attempts at an Epidural: Why It Happens and What It Doesn't Mean

One of the quieter fears about getting an epidural is the thought of the needle going in more than once — that if it takes a couple of tries, something has gone wrong or you've got a "bad" anesthesiologist. Here's the reassurance: needing more than one attempt is fairly common, it's usually about anatomy rather than skill, and it doesn't mean your epidural will hurt more or work worse. Let me explain why it happens.

#Why it sometimes takes more than one try

Placing an epidural is a precise, feel-guided procedure. Your anesthesiologist is threading a catheter into a small space along your spine that they can't see directly — they locate it by feel and landmarks. Several normal things can make that target harder to reach on the first pass:

• Your individual anatomy. Everyone's spine is a little different. The spaces between the vertebrae, the angle of the bones, and the depth of the target vary from person to person.
• Positioning. Curling forward into a "C" shape opens the spaces in your spine — but staying perfectly still in that position is genuinely hard when you're having contractions.
• You're a moving target. A contraction arriving mid-procedure, or simply the difficulty of holding still, can mean a redirect.
• Hitting bone. Often a "second attempt" just means the needle gently touched bone and the anesthesiologist adjusted the angle slightly — a normal course-correction, not a failure.

So a few adjustments, or a fresh attempt at a slightly different level, is part of the normal range of placing an epidural — especially when anatomy or pre-existing back issues make the landmarks harder to feel.

#What it doesn't mean

It's worth being clear about what extra attempts don't signal:

• It doesn't mean your epidural will work worse. Once the catheter is correctly placed, it works the same regardless of how many tries it took to get there.
• It doesn't mean you'll be in more pain long-term. The discomfort of placement is brief; needing a redirect doesn't change your recovery.
• It doesn't mean your anesthesiologist is inexperienced. Skilled clinicians need extra attempts on difficult anatomy too — that's the nature of a blind, feel-based technique.

(If a placed epidural ends up patchy or one-sided, that's a separate issue — an epidural that isn't working — and also usually fixable.)

#What can make it go smoother

You can help the process along:

• Hold the position. Round your back like an angry cat, chin to chest, shoulders relaxed and dropped — and try to stay as still as you can, even through a contraction. Your nurse will often help you hold steady.
• Speak up about contractions. Tell your anesthesiologist when one is coming or peaking so they can time around it.
• Ask about ultrasound. For tricky backs, some teams use ultrasound to map your spine and pinpoint the best entry spot, which can reduce attempts.
• Breathe and try to relax your shoulders. Tensing up arches your back the wrong way; slow breathing helps you hold the curl.

It's also completely fair to ask your anesthesiologist to talk you through each step — many moms find the procedure far less stressful when they know what's happening.

#The bottom line

If your epidural takes more than one attempt, try not to read it as a bad sign. It usually just means your anatomy asked for an adjustment, which is ordinary. The brief discomfort passes, the catheter works just as well once it's in, and the experience overall is still the relief you came for. Your job is mostly to curl up, hold still, and let your team do the careful, patient work of getting it right.