To have an epidural or not .. that is the question?
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I have done both epidural and no epidural and I say epidural. The epidural as I recall did not hurt or at least not as bad as the contractions. As far as complications I shook when it wore off and to this day 9 years later the spot that it was injected in still scabs over and hurts from time to time. Now this last time I went too fast to have the epidural and it hurt like hell. I was only in labor for 4 hours so it was fast, but honestly it felt like my vagina was splitting in two (sorry TMI) I of course probably went faster because an epidural tends to slow down your progress but I would have preferred the epidural. I did recover faster without the epidural so if you have a high tolerance of pain and a husband/boyfriend who loves you dearly and is understanding and won't leave you over stupid reasons go natural. I would never choose that but that is just me. My babies were 8lb 14oz and 8lb 12oz.0
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This is my first and I am planning on having one, just to help calm me and in case anything unexpected happens. I've heard stories of it being painful when there is tearing...and that the placenta can be painful when it comes out or that it if it is deeply rooted it hurts much much more than the delivery of the baby. Also, large heads run in my family, and on my husband's side the babies are usually 9-11 pounds. My mother had all 4 children without one because she had quick labors....who knows if I will take after her but if it's possible to have one, I will.
The only time I've heard of forceps or a vacuum being used is when the baby has a very large head....one of my aunts and my mother had to go through that because of the size of the baby's head, but neither one of them had epidurals.
forceps and vacuum at my hospital are no longer used but my mother had that done with my older sister and it broke her tailbone in the process.0 -
The best way I've researched to best your chances at a natural, no-intervention, no medicine, birth is to keep your water (if it doesn't break on its own, don't let them break it! The water sack around the baby buffers the pain and it won't be as bad); use a shower/tub as again the water acts as a buffer for the pain; and no pitocin or other medical inductions (they make contractions worse which would increase your likelihood of wanting pain meds/epidural). This is my plan going into labor; I plan to labor at home as long as possible as others have mentioned because it eliminates the potential for early unnecessary medical interventions, and I'll have access to a tub (unfortunately my hospital won't have tubs available by my due date although they'll eventually have them). I'll also have a doula to provide aromatherapy and assist my husband with massages and pressure points to relieve pain that way. Also, move around as much as you can - I've heard it helps if you can manage it!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.0 -
This is my first baby and after hearing all the pros and cons of each I decide to go all natural. I'm not going to drug my baby because I can't handle the pain. Plus I had one woman tell me her face tingled for a week after as a side affect. And my aunt had it reverse on her, her top half went numb! So she had to have two epidurals! Plus it can cause Jandus (or however it's spelled) and has more recovery time, and can cause more tearing. I'm not here to offend anyone, if you want to have epidural that's your choice. Me personally I can't justify myself causing higher risks for jandus or a longer recovery for myself because I don't want to feel the pain. I believe God doesn't give you anything you can't handle, and if he didn't believe woman could do it natural we would lay eggs like birds. But again to each their own. Some of my friends got epidurals and I was happy to help hold their legs open while they pushed.0
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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
Also, I forgot to ask, did they have to use a vaccum or forceps? That is another fear of mine as I've heard that the epidural usually heightens the chance for the docs to have to use these methods. Don't know how true it is ...
Nope, sure didn't! I did feel (without pain) contractions coming on to know when to push. Also, I recommend using a mirror..It really helped me to stay focused and to see the progress i was making getting my son out! - I pushed for an hour and 7 minutes but that time FLEW by. I tore in 4 different places but it all happened so fast that I only remember being in pain for a second!0 -
I have had 3 epidurals now. 2 were good, 1 wasn't.
With my first, I labored at home for 12 hours before going to the hospital with contractions 2 min apart. I was about 4-5 cm when I got there and immediately got the epidural. The man who placed it was AMAZING. The only part that hurt was getting area numbed, and that's like a little sting, seriously nothing compared to the pain of labor. (I'm a MAJOR wus with needles, too!) It worked on the very next contraction. I still totally felt when to push. It took 20 minutes of pushing and a small episiotomy to get baby #1. I still felt an intense amount of pressure when he was born.
With the second, I labored at home just 2 hours then went to the hospital with contractions 2 min apart again and was at 4-5 cm. I was a 6 by the time they got me an epidural. The placement took a little longer and it was quite a while (30-60 min) before I felt total relief but after that, it felt even BETTER than my first epidural. I knew when to push, and baby was out in a push or two. I tore in the same spot as the episiotomy the previous time had been. I could not have asked for an easier delivery.
WIth baby #3, things did NOT go well. I was induced and the guy who put the epidural in was HORRIBLE. He took forever placing it and I ended up completely blacking out from being hunched over my stomach so long. The nurse and my husband held me in place til I came to about 10 seconds later so that he could keep working. Once it was finally in place and I could lay down, it numbed the right side of me significantly more than the left. Then I realized it was numbing up to my right shoulder and NOTHING below my pubic line was numb! They tried changing the specific epi med, placing me on my left side, just about anything before wanting to place it again. I wish I had been more demanding about them replacing it because by the time they realized they needed to, it was too late. The pain of contractions wasn't horrible but I could feel the catheter and EVERYTHING of the birth! It took me 6 minutes of pushing for that baby (compared to the 1 minute for the previous one) just because it was so painful that it was hard to make myself push with that kind of pain. I had minor tearing, same place as before.
With every epidural, my blood pressure drops immediately after it's placed so they give me something to bring it back up. It's not a big deal, just makes me nauseous for a little bit til the meds kick in.
EVEN WITH the horrible last experience, I will absolutely do an epidural again this time. I know what happened to me was rare and I would much rather never feel that pain again if at all possible! I loved that with the first two deliveries I was able to talk and be excited about what was happening. With #3 I was such an emotional mess and unable to handle the pain that even when they put my baby on my tummy I just didn't care of about her. (I'm sorry if that's horrible to admit!) I just kept thinking she had just caused me all this pain, take her away and clean her or something! (No worries! We bonded just fine! LOL) I really felt more relaxed during the whole experience with my first two and I would do those again in a heartbeat. I didn't feel pain but was still able to move my legs around and feel pressure to know when to push. I also was able to walk myself to the bathroom just fine within an hour. Oh, and none of my babies ever acted "drugged" of any sort. They were all alert and just fine and none had jaundice (since someone mentioned that being a concern.)
I admire people who want to have a natural birth, but I don't think there's anything wrong with wanting an epidural. I just know I have a low pain threshold and natural's not for me, at least not by my own choosing. Good luck in your personal decision!0 -
I've never had one because this is my first baby but I don't plan on having one. I want an all-natural drug free birth. I'm keeping an open mind but the way I view it our bodies were designed and meant to go through the birthing process. That being said, I don't look down on any woman who makes the choice to have pain medication, etc. because it's an individual decision and what works for me might not work for someone else.
Basically this. This will be my first birth and while it will be in a hospital, it will be with a midwife that respects the way I wish to labor and give birth. I am a little scared and know it will hurt, but every day I become a little more confident that I can do it and that it's what I want.0 -
I've never had one because this is my first baby but I don't plan on having one. I want an all-natural drug free birth. I'm keeping an open mind but the way I view it our bodies were designed and meant to go through the birthing process. That being said, I don't look down on any woman who makes the choice to have pain medication, etc. because it's an individual decision and what works for me might not work for someone else.
Basically this. This will be my first birth and while it will be in a hospital, it will be with a midwife that respects the way I wish to labor and give birth. I am a little scared and know it will hurt, but every day I become a little more confident that I can do it and that it's what I want.
The greatest coaching that I ever got was during my first birth from my labor and delivery nurse. I was in transition and starting to lose it, and she told me that my body is doing what it knows how to do, but that I control the pain. I don't let the pain control me. I never forgot that, and now, I think of that every time that I give birth. Also, in the "natural birth community" many women call contraction by another name, making them less ominous and subconsciously easier to deal with. They are often called rushes or waves. I like to think of them as waves. I like to rock through the waves.0 -
No vacuum or forceps with my epidural. Totally uneventful vaginal birth.0
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i had 3 epidurals it hurt like crazy but i had 3 c sections soon to have 4 and i have crazzzy back pain :90
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I'm on the "or not" side of pain medication during labor. So much information gets put out about why it's better to birth without pain medication, but I feel like there's a big gap where very few people mention specific issues for the baby. Sure you hear, "It can make you baby lethargic, which could cause difficulty in breastfeeding," but you aren't getting much more than that. Speaking from experience, there's a lot more to it.
I'm the only baby my mom used pain medication with (my sisters both came within 2 hours, so there wasn't time) and I'm the only birth she had issues with. Her doctor was off work and pretty much refused to come in to deliver me. For some reason no one else was capable, or they were just a bunch of asshats. They used demerol to attempt to slow her labor down, giving the doctor enough time to decide he was ready to come back to work. Even with the pain medication, and being told to not push, her labor was only 8 hours - which rocks for a first time birth, on your back, in a hospital full of asshats. Due to that really lousy combination, I aspirated fluid. But rather than try to cough it up, which is you know a reflex, I just kinda went with it. Because of the demerol I was too lethargic to try and save my own damn life.
I ended up with an infection in my lungs, and didn't get to go home, be held, or breastfeed for 10 days.
As a result of that initial onslaught of hospital horror, my lungs are ridiculously susceptible to infection, and are currently full of scar tissue. I've never been able to run. It's been nearly 22 years.
I've known since I was a child that any child I managed to conceive would be born naturally. It's not even an option to consider pain medication.0 -
The natural contraction i was happy with ok with but the pitocin one oh no, i loved my epidural. I am hoping to actually go into labor this time in hopes of deliving naturally.....last time i get to go through it. On the hand with pitocin and epidural it still took 12 hours before it was time to push so i don't know. My labor experience taught me not to judge people and know most moms know what it is right for them, plus with my water broken the nurse inside of me kept saying 24hours to a c-section and i definitely did not want that.0
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I figured I would add a little anecdote to my experience:
I was induced and ended up on the maximum amount of pitocin, not progressing, my water was broken at 3cm. My baby was 9lbs and it took me two hours to push him out, but I did it with no drugs and only had small first-degree internal tears.
A lot of my friends told me I wouldn't be able to get through the pitocin contractions without an epidural, but I did. It hurt like a sonofa*****, but I know it can be done.
I've only had one baby, so I don't have a lot of birthing experience to draw on, and we're all so different. Just don't let other people's stories scare you, because you don't know what your body is capable of until you get there.0 -
I, like many other women, am HOPING to have a natural birth.
That being said, I haven't a CLUE what labor feels like or how capable I am in handling the pain, so I will keep my options open. The main reason I don't want to have an epidural is because I want to feel my body doing what its supposed to be doing. I want to feel the natural urges that are suppressed with an epidural. Also, I would love to be able to try various birthing positions that one wouldn't be able to do with an epidural. Hard to say how things will go, though. I say I want all natural, and knowing my luck, and the way my pregnancy is progressing, I'll probably need to be induced artificially anyway, lol. Either way, I'm due February 5th so we shall find out soon enough how everything goes!0 -
The natural contraction i was happy with ok with but the pitocin one oh no, i loved my epidural. I am hoping to actually go into labor this time in hopes of deliving naturally.....last time i get to go through it. On the hand with pitocin and epidural it still took 12 hours before it was time to push so i don't know. My labor experience taught me not to judge people and know most moms know what it is right for them, plus with my water broken the nurse inside of me kept saying 24hours to a c-section and i definitely did not want that.
I was fine with natural contractions until the pitocin, which gave me no breaks between contractions ---> begging for an epidural. Sure, I might have been in enough pain to ask for it anyway, but with the pitocin I had no chance. There was really no good reason for me to be given pitocin, either, and I think they overdosed me on it.
This time I am having a talk with my OB about not wanting pitocin. My first labor was 11 hours total, which is very short for a first-timer, especially when you consider that epidurals are supposed to slow down labor. I only had to wait that long because I was Strep B positive, so I wasn't allowed to start pushing until I'd gotten another dose of antibiotics at a certain time after the first dose, and then I had to wait for the doctor. Had I not had to wait for antibiotics and the doctor, I probably would have started pushing a lot earlier because for a long time my son was basically waiting right there, at the ready. Anyway, subsequent labors are generally shorter, so I likely won't have that much time from start to finish (I hope). Giving me pitocin would be really silly.0 -
I had one last week with my son. To be honest, contractions hurt a hell of a lot worse than the needle. I don't even remember the needle, but I do remember relief and being much calmer. My labor progressed quickly once my pain went away! I would do it again in a heartbeat. 0
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I have been reading this one and now I have some time to post. I have had 4 deliveries all with epidural. Love the epidural, I went in for my first my water broke but contractions were not strong enough... I didn't feel them, and they were not registering so add in the drip... painful back contractions, that were not even reading on the moniter (very fusrating, I was in pain and no one could see the results). My husband was all on board for natural no drugs... until the pain got worse, he could not bare to see me in pain he caved first and convinced me to try something, nurse suggested morphine as I was still against epidural and was barely 2 cm and no change in hours. Tried morphine started puking.... at that point I gave in to the pressure and it was the best thing for me. I got my epidural, back pain eased. And I relaxed.... i went from 2cm to 8cm in 1/2 an hour. I told the nurse I was ready, she laughed and said we just gave you the epidural like 20 min ago.... so she checked and yes I was up to 8.... frantic nurse at that point.... I said I felt like pushing, suprised she called the dr and she said okay try one, its going to be a bit, I pushed once and she told me not to do it again! more panic and baby was out in 2 more pushes. Other birth stories are similar (except my monkey boy who turned sideways during labor, that was painful body trying to force sideways baby into birth canel, trust me he is still my monkey, turned out okay skilled DR. turned him and broke my water so he could not swim anymore.), once epidual kicks in I relax and it goes fast, but my body has never seemed to fully go through labor on its own, it was always taken the drip to finish the process, my water will break, I get going a little but it seem to stall and give out.... so heres to one more baby I would like to not be impatient this time and not jump at getting induced.... although that being said I get so darned excited to meet my new baby that I don't know it I can wait any extra time.
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I'm due Feb 6th! Good luck :drinker:I, like many other women, am HOPING to have a natural birth.
That being said, I haven't a CLUE what labor feels like or how capable I am in handling the pain, so I will keep my options open. The main reason I don't want to have an epidural is because I want to feel my body doing what its supposed to be doing. I want to feel the natural urges that are suppressed with an epidural. Also, I would love to be able to try various birthing positions that one wouldn't be able to do with an epidural. Hard to say how things will go, though. I say I want all natural, and knowing my luck, and the way my pregnancy is progressing, I'll probably need to be induced artificially anyway, lol. Either way, I'm due February 5th so we shall find out soon enough how everything goes!0 -
I'll add to my story that once I had the epidural, I went from 3-4cm (where I'd kinda stalled, despite the fact that they'd overloaded me with pitocin) to 10cm in no time flat. They say that epidurals sometimes stall labor, but my guess is that I chilled out enough to dilate. Everyone's different, though.0
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I, like many other women, am HOPING to have a natural birth.
That being said, I haven't a CLUE what labor feels like or how capable I am in handling the pain, so I will keep my options open. The main reason I don't want to have an epidural is because I want to feel my body doing what its supposed to be doing. I want to feel the natural urges that are suppressed with an epidural. Also, I would love to be able to try various birthing positions that one wouldn't be able to do with an epidural. Hard to say how things will go, though. I say I want all natural, and knowing my luck, and the way my pregnancy is progressing, I'll probably need to be induced artificially anyway, lol. Either way, I'm due February 5th so we shall find out soon enough how everything goes!
Good for you! Let us know how it goes. I read two books that have greatly helped me with practicing relaxation techniques, etc. A lot of it is mental.0
