I delivered my 8 lb, 21 inches son drug-free, now to clarify this was not by choice. I arrived at the hospital around 8:00am, by the time I was in the delivery room... it was too late for any drugs, he was in my arms by 10:53am!!! in all honesty, it was the most painful experience of my life and I begged the doctor and the nurses and everyone around me to make it stop. I was also experiencing back labor, it was very very painful. the doctor said an epidural was no longer a choice

Now I'm pregnant with my second boy, I plan to have this one drug free as well. The one part that I loved about no drugs is that after giving birth, I took a nap and when I woke up I felt great, I was ready to go home and take on the world. I did stay for 48 hours and was discharged with my son. My doctor told me that my body did very well and the delivery was fast, although, painful.

I will be taking an epidural class next week, in the state of GA, if you do not take this class you don't have the choice to even have the epidural. I know how it feels not to have the choice, and I would like to have it just in case. Every delivery and every woman's body is different, I just want to keep my options open. for now, I have told my doc and hubby, NO drugs... but we shall see

I've had two epidurals. Both times I was going to attempt to avoid it, both times I wound up with an epidural by around the 5-6cm point. I would just get to the point I could not stand the pain anymore. I'm not a needle fan either, and it doesn't help that it's like a 6 inch BIG ole needle. Does it hurt...honestly labor is such an intense, no relief kind of pain that for me when I was in labor I knew that the pain from the epidural couldn't be any worse than what I was going thru. I was correct, it is a quick pain and then beautiful relief!! The positive element, you can relax, chat, and just enjoy the birth experience with no pain. The downside, there are good anesthesiologists and terrible ones, and that makes a huge difference as to whether or not the epidural is that helpful. My first epidural experience was not a good one, I went numb quickly, was in labor a long time and the epidural seemed to either wear off, or not be strong enough to begin with and by the time my daughter was crowning I could feel everything, even the episiotomy. Plus the epidural site hurt for a long time afterwards and would still get sore from time to time even a year later. My second epidural was wonderful, felt nothing, not even the birth. All of that being said!!!! I would really like to try to this birth without the epidural. I don't know why the thought of a third epidural is scary to me. I'm just concerned that something is going to go wrong. So who know, it's just going to depend on how it goes. I'll probably get to the hospital and be begging for one again. Good luck in your decision making, there is no right or wrong. It's a person by person case as everyone's labor and pain tolerance is very different!

I had an epidural with my first son and drug-free with my second, so I can give you pros and cons of each.

Epidural - Yes, it does help with the pain. I don't remember the needle hurting because I was focused on sitting perfectly still through a contraction. Side effects included vomiting, not feeling my legs so I had to stay in bed, and when it came time to push I couldn't really feel when to push so it took 3 hours to get him out.

Natural - It happened by accident. I dilated so fast in the tub that when I asked for an epidural it was too late. It hurts like hell! I could feel everything, but when it was time to push he was out in two pushes. Much faster recovery time. No tearing.

Now pregnant with my third, and I will definitely be going the natural route again.

Thank you all for your helpful responses. I hadn't even thought of the epidural injection site still hurting afterwards so this information definitely puts things in perspective for me.

I also find it interesting that most women who have birthed naturally would do it again despite the pain - something for me to really consider.

Thank you all again.

I have had three naturally, and I am currently planning a home birth with my fourth. When I was pregnant with my first, I made my mind up to have only natural childbirth unless absolutely necessary after much research in medication side effects and possible reactions. I didn't want to put anything into my body that could harm me or my baby. I can say that if you don't want one, you have to really put your mind to it. I had pitocin during my first, and it was extremely painful, but I was determined not to take anything, so I didn't. My second and third labors had no interventions at all, and I felt amazing during the labor and after, and didn't feel like it was very painful. Just make sure that if you go naturally, you have options to move around as much as you want and to labor and or birth in a tub, because that helps pain immensely. Good luck!

Thank you all for your helpful responses. I hadn't even thought of the epidural injection site still hurting afterwards so this information definitely puts things in perspective for me.

I also find it interesting that most women who have birthed naturally would do it again despite the pain - something for me to really consider.

Thank you all again.

I have had three naturally, and I am currently planning a home birth with my fourth. When I was pregnant with my first, I made my mind up to have only natural childbirth unless absolutely necessary after much research in medication side effects and possible reactions. I didn't want to put anything into my body that could harm me or my baby. I can say that if you don't want one, you have to really put your mind to it. I had pitocin during my first, and it was extremely painful, but I was determined not to take anything, so I didn't. My second and third labors had no interventions at all, and I felt amazing during the labor and after, and didn't feel like it was very painful. Just make sure that if you go naturally, you have options to move around as much as you want and to labor and or birth in a tub, because that helps pain immensely. Good luck!

Thank you. Your response is very reassuring. I'm planning to deliver in a hospital but thankfully each delivery room has a jacuzzi tub, birthing stools and balls, shower and other natural relaxation techniques. I would absolutely LOVE to try to do it naturally but have heard so many horror stories of women that tried to go natural only to find out they couldn't take it and then the epidural was a nightmare to administer because the contractions were too strong for her to stay still. I guess I'm just not sure if I'll be able to take the pain.

I had one with my son 6 weeks ago..I went in with wanting to go all natural but was still open to the idea of the epidural. Like you said, I'm one of those who couldn't take the pain and had to give in to the epidural, it was VERY hard to sit still through the pain of the contractions (I was at a 7-8) but I knew it was only a matter of time before I was painless so I kept that in mind lol

That said, I absolutely do not regret my decision to get one, it made my birthing experience so much more enjoyable and after getting the epidural I was able to relax and enjoy the company of my friends and family before pushing, also for me it didn't take much time at all to wear off. IMHO!

good luck with your decision and ability to stick to it

I had my son nearly two years ago, and I begged for the epidural (I was having multiple contractions with no breaks inbetween, and it felt like I was being stabbed repeatedly from multiple angles - I literally would have been happy to die to make it stop). The epidural was AWESOME.

That said, that's my only L&D experience, but I'm open to having it again this time around. Like last time, I professed to be "open to it." Meaning if I can get by without it, cool, but if not, I'll take it without hesitation.

The needle burned a little. I wouldn't say hurt, though. It's just sort of weird because you're trying to sit perfectly still (and for me they told me to tell them when a contraction ended, but that obviously wasn't happening - I had an L&D nurse basically hugging me to help me hold still), and they tape this stuff on your back and give you a little thing that looks like a Jeopardy buzzer with a little red button on it. The red button is supposed to give you another rush of drugs if the current dose wears off (so I just put it to the side, no big deal).

Once it was in, I laid back in bed, had a semi-painful contraction and was then cool as a cucumber, like nothing was going on. I was happy, talkative, watching TV, just hanging out until it came time to push.

Because I couldn't feel any contractions, I didn't know when to push. My OB and the L&D nurse just told me to push like I was pooping whenever they saw a contraction hit, and my son was out in three pushes (less than 5 minutes of pushing). I had one teeny, tiny little tear-- my OB at first thought I didn't have one, but then she said, "Oh, yeah, there's a tiny one, you just need one stitch." Since I'd had the epidural, I couldn't feel that, either. It was a dissolving suture, too, so it just kind of disappeared on its own. When I went for my 6-week postpartum check-up, she said it didn't look like anything had happened because the tear was that small.

The only downside was that I had to hang out in the room for about an hour to wait for my epidural to wear off, and they were extra careful in getting me down from the bed to be sure that I could feel and move my legs. (I wasn't totally numb down there, but I probably wouldn't have been able to walk with the epidural in place.) Then they moved me to the bathroom to hose me down (an exaggeration, but I did joke that it looked like a murder scene in there) and to my room on the maternity ward.

I had absolutely no complications from the epidural. I mean, my skin was a little itchy for a few days afterwards due to the adhesive on my back, but I have eczema, so my skin is mega sensitive. (Sometimes I can use a Band-Aid and be itchy where it was for a day or two afterwards.) The only weird thing I can remember happening as a result is that I had shivers immediately after it was put in. I wasn't cold, but I was shivering pretty hard, like I was freezing. They all said that was normal, and it lasted maybe 5 minutes and didn't happen again.

ETA that my opinion on the matter is that you can focus on what's awesome about giving birth without worrying about any pain. I was totally focused on just pushing (which wasn't painful at all) and getting my son out, then seeing him, etc. My sister and two sisters-in-law all had epidurals with 7 kids between them and did not regret them. They all said the same thing, too, that you can focus on the birth itself rather than the pain. I don't fault anyone for not wanting or getting an epidural, though - to each her own!

I have delivered 4 babies. My first I had an epidural. I was pretty much forced to have one because I was at 63hrs and was exhausted. Also I had been on PIT the entire time which makes (for most) your labor 10x more intense. I have a back injury and should never had received one. It took them 6 pokes to place it and the whole time I was having severe contractions. When they finally got it in both me and baby's heart rates plunged. I was put on oxygen and they took the epidural out. So I had it for a total of an hour. Yes it did numb me completely, but I also got the bed shakes. By the time I pushed it had worn off. My labor was 73hrs long.

NOW with that said...THAT IS NOT COMMON! So don't let my story freak you out. However because I then on knew I couldn't have one I did the rest pain med free. Yes it was hard and yes with each subsequent birth I reached a point where I cried and asked for some pain meds. BUT my birth partners (my hubby and mother) knew that I honestly didn't want it and really helped me and encouraged me. They where crucial to me being able to deal with the pain and make it through without pain meds which we knew 1) was very important to me am 2) I had very limited options anyway.

As I tell anyone who is having their first make a simple, but detailed birth plan. Make sure you and your birth partner are on the same page and they are willing to support you 100%. Also know that sometimes things happen not the way we planned and birth plans get tossed out. But have confidence that this is done for you and your babies safety. Good luck!

Just FYI...my last two babies where 9lbs 2oz and 9lbs 9oz. So it's doable to have big babies vaginally without pain meds.