Epidural or Drug Free Delivery?
- Thread starter SophieHK
- Start date
or maybe i'm weird too ;-) and will do it again (hopefully) exactly the same wayHello, my first was delivered with an epidural, the second without (but not by choice as my second baby came too fast). The recovery time for both myself and the babies was the same. I would recommend an epidural birth, definately less painful. Maybe I am not as strong as some of the others mums, maybe I have a lower pain threshhold - but if I had another baby I would still choose an epidural. You dont have to choose an epidural immediately, just have it as an option in case you find the pain too difficult. You will know when then it is. Also just be sure that your dilation is monitored as you can get to the point where an epidural is not an option, i.e. I was too dilated. When you go into labour to be honest you just get on with it and deal with what comes along in the best way you can. Good luck, try not to worry- the memory of labour fades fast when that new baby is on your arms.
i had a drug-free first labour and like some other weirdos really enjoyed giving birth that time 
)
second time around baby was much bigger and had the cord around his neck. the back pain was excruciating. I was 8cm dilated and the baby wasn't even engaged!! i asked for a single low-dose epidural to gather my strength.
it was the best decision i ever made. it only lasted around 30-45mins and had worn off completely by the pushing stage.
If i am lucky enough to have a 3rd baby I will be aiming for 100% drug free but like last time i'll be prepared to flex my plans given the situation at the time.
child birth for most women really isn't that bad and i think what we often forget is that women are designed to have babies! have faith in yourself and you will make the right decision for you at the time.
) second time around baby was much bigger and had the cord around his neck. the back pain was excruciating. I was 8cm dilated and the baby wasn't even engaged!! i asked for a single low-dose epidural to gather my strength.
it was the best decision i ever made. it only lasted around 30-45mins and had worn off completely by the pushing stage.
If i am lucky enough to have a 3rd baby I will be aiming for 100% drug free but like last time i'll be prepared to flex my plans given the situation at the time.
child birth for most women really isn't that bad and i think what we often forget is that women are designed to have babies! have faith in yourself and you will make the right decision for you at the time.
Shenzhennifer
Registered User
sorry to pipe in again, but when I was in labour, I was so surprised that women were designed to have babies. the pain was just terrible. Of course you read all about it, and for me, I really wanted to do it naturally for the baby. But I had little choice - water broke, was bed ridden so I couldn`t help progress my labour, then too much time passed so I was induced and then the pain really started, I was crying for an epidural when I was no where near having the baby, whose head was stuck in the canal and whose heart wasn`t faring well with all the contractions. The doctor did everything she could as she wanted to avoid a c-section but in the end, I had no choice and to be honest, at that point I was like OK!!!!
So to all the ladies here who have had drug free natural births, even a few times over, I applaud you for being so strong. And I envy you that your birth went at least somewhat according to plan.
At one point I had an IV in each arm, an epidural from my back, fetal monitoring from my belly, a cathetor from you know where, and oxygen from my nose. It was very humbling.
But I know for SURE next time, if I can even have a VBAC, I will be booking that epidural in advance!
So to all the ladies here who have had drug free natural births, even a few times over, I applaud you for being so strong. And I envy you that your birth went at least somewhat according to plan.
At one point I had an IV in each arm, an epidural from my back, fetal monitoring from my belly, a cathetor from you know where, and oxygen from my nose. It was very humbling.
But I know for SURE next time, if I can even have a VBAC, I will be booking that epidural in advance!
babymommy2
Registered User
I agree with other posters that is is okay to not know what you want to do, you have to make a decision beforehand. Each labor can be so different. I was induced with oxytocin for my first and had the epidural. From the start of the induction until birth was about 36 hours.There were no breaks at all between contractions, one on top of the other and I couldn't cope, this is because of the oxytocin. I would highly recomend not haveing an induction unless absolutly medically necessary. I had one because the baby was very small and ther were worries he had IUGR, which turned out to be wrong, he was very healthy, small, 5 lbs 14oz, but still within the normal range. I had the epidural at 7 cm. There were no complications related to the epidural. It was turned down for pushing and I could tell when to push.
For my second I really did not want to have the epidural. It was really important to me to have that sense of acomplishment of ding it myself. My labor was much quicker, about 4.5 hours, I had no oxytocin, I only pushed 15 minutes.The pushing was completely differnt than with the epidural. I had thought that I could feel lots with the epidural, as I could tell when to push, and it was actually a lttle painful, so I thought I really was doing it on my own, but after having no epidural, I realize now how numb I still was. The feeling of pushing with no epidural is amazing, it is so primal, your body takes over completely. It is painful, but much less so than transition. I was able to be in a tub in the hospital, this make the contractions much more bearable, also had a doula. It was a perfect birth! I was so happy after, it was an amazing feeling and accomplishment and I would never do an epidural again!
With a drug free birth, you need to get into a zone and deal with one contraction at a time
For my second I really did not want to have the epidural. It was really important to me to have that sense of acomplishment of ding it myself. My labor was much quicker, about 4.5 hours, I had no oxytocin, I only pushed 15 minutes.The pushing was completely differnt than with the epidural. I had thought that I could feel lots with the epidural, as I could tell when to push, and it was actually a lttle painful, so I thought I really was doing it on my own, but after having no epidural, I realize now how numb I still was. The feeling of pushing with no epidural is amazing, it is so primal, your body takes over completely. It is painful, but much less so than transition. I was able to be in a tub in the hospital, this make the contractions much more bearable, also had a doula. It was a perfect birth! I was so happy after, it was an amazing feeling and accomplishment and I would never do an epidural again!
With a drug free birth, you need to get into a zone and deal with one contraction at a time
I think she meant "epi" as in epidural and not episiotomy. In any case, I have also heard that some people do get back pain after epidural, which was the reason I chose not to have epidural. Having suffered back problems from teens, I decided if there were truth to it, it'd just be opening another can of worms. In any case, at least for me, labour pains were bearable and as I told my husband, I found it better than the pain from slipped disc. haha.
Totally agree that if you really feel strongly about going without epidural, your mindset has to be "this would not last forever" and breathe! BTW, I used TENS machine for my 2nd and found it to be really good.
Totally agree that if you really feel strongly about going without epidural, your mindset has to be "this would not last forever" and breathe! BTW, I used TENS machine for my 2nd and found it to be really good.
That is such a personal decision! I had my first child with the epidura and was planning a drug free birth for my second, but she was breech and I had to have a c-section. The epidural I had with my first was not that great for me. In retrospect, it slowed my labor down, kept me on my back which is not an optimal position for labor and delivery, and may even have kept my girl from turning from her sunnyside up position. It also stopped working on one side and needed to be redone, which was stressful.
I firmly believe all women should be prepared for the possibility of no epidural, as it may not work or there may not be time, so why not practice/study techniques for managing contractions without drugs?
I highly recommend doing some reading about natural birth if you are interested at all - I really enjoyed "Birthing from Within" and the Mongan "Hypnobirthing" books. I also definitely recommend talking to the midwives at Annerley. I was taking the Hypnobirthing class and it even helped me get through my c-section - obviously I had drugs for that but the techniques helped me feel relaxed throughout the surgery and made my daughter's surgical birth a much more joyful experience.
I'm done with my books and done having kids so if you would like to get the books from me I'd be happy to pass them on.
I firmly believe all women should be prepared for the possibility of no epidural, as it may not work or there may not be time, so why not practice/study techniques for managing contractions without drugs?
I highly recommend doing some reading about natural birth if you are interested at all - I really enjoyed "Birthing from Within" and the Mongan "Hypnobirthing" books. I also definitely recommend talking to the midwives at Annerley. I was taking the Hypnobirthing class and it even helped me get through my c-section - obviously I had drugs for that but the techniques helped me feel relaxed throughout the surgery and made my daughter's surgical birth a much more joyful experience.
I'm done with my books and done having kids so if you would like to get the books from me I'd be happy to pass them on.
miriam228
Registered User
AndreaY, thanks for helpingme clarify. Yes, I meant epidural!
I am also considering drug-free delivery, but am sooooooo scared!! I even freak out when I get normal injections, so how am I going to survive this 10, 20 or even 30 hours pain?!?!?
BTW, what's this TENS machine pls??? (Sorry, as I'm just expecting my first one in July, I don't have much knowledge/experience with all this!!)
I am also considering drug-free delivery, but am sooooooo scared!! I even freak out when I get normal injections, so how am I going to survive this 10, 20 or even 30 hours pain?!?!?
BTW, what's this TENS machine pls??? (Sorry, as I'm just expecting my first one in July, I don't have much knowledge/experience with all this!!)