Epidurals typically do not remove all of the mother's pain. There also may a delay in getting medication. Other comfort measures are needed to fill in the gap.
An anesthesiologist shared with me that the majority of mothers he was treating had no back-up plan other than getting an epidural for pain relief. Epidurals have become so effective at reducing pain that more and mothers believed that nothing else was needed.
However, there are several reasons why every mother should learn as many pain relief techniques as possible. Here are just a few: