"My mom had some pretty bad experiences twenty years ago. She said after those experiences, she decided to go natural on the last one because, "it just couldn't be worse than the epidural." (Well, she proclaimed to me that it was, and if she had to do it again she would go ahead with the epi.)"
Yeah, purely in terms of the amount of physical distress one must endure in the momnent, an epidural is less distressing than an unmedicated birth.
I have had three births - one at a birth center, one at home, one in a hospital with pitocin and an epi. None of my births were "bad." All three of my babies were healthy and pink and nursed right away.
Each birth was what I had decided I wanted, based on what I knew about my body and what was going on with my family at each point in time. That last birth, with the Pit and the epi, was a birth where I just had no interest in pain. I didn't have the time or emotional energy to put into getting over all that pain, and I had confidence that my uterus would do its job even with the drugs (I have 5-hour unmedicated labors).
BUT, this is your first birth, and if you decide that unmedicated/natural is what you want, then I think you'll be really happy with the experience. (Whereas, if you do it to please or impress your spouse or mother or whoever else, it's not so likely to turn out well). If you end up deciding to birth without meds, I urge you to do so out of a hospital. Hospitals are just not the ideal location to be private, get naked, work with the pain, and have an unimpeded natural birth. Even though I gave birth twice with very minimal interventions of any kind, I don't think that I could have pulled it off in the hospital environment.
Yeah, purely in terms of the amount of physical distress one must endure in the momnent, an epidural is less distressing than an unmedicated birth.
I have had three births - one at a birth center, one at home, one in a hospital with pitocin and an epi. None of my births were "bad." All three of my babies were healthy and pink and nursed right away.
Each birth was what I had decided I wanted, based on what I knew about my body and what was going on with my family at each point in time. That last birth, with the Pit and the epi, was a birth where I just had no interest in pain. I didn't have the time or emotional energy to put into getting over all that pain, and I had confidence that my uterus would do its job even with the drugs (I have 5-hour unmedicated labors).
BUT, this is your first birth, and if you decide that unmedicated/natural is what you want, then I think you'll be really happy with the experience. (Whereas, if you do it to please or impress your spouse or mother or whoever else, it's not so likely to turn out well). If you end up deciding to birth without meds, I urge you to do so out of a hospital. Hospitals are just not the ideal location to be private, get naked, work with the pain, and have an unimpeded natural birth. Even though I gave birth twice with very minimal interventions of any kind, I don't think that I could have pulled it off in the hospital environment.
did want to know about other interventions, and there you have them.
I was in labor for three days, and ended up transferring for exhaustion. I'm sure that if I had planned a hospital birth, they would have interfered to 'hurry things up' long before I decided I needed intervention. When I got there, I told the doctor, "I just need an epidural and some rest." He said, "you're dilated too far for an epidural," and I said, "trust me, this is still going to take many more hours." Thank heaven he trusted my judgment on that! (It took 5 more hours before I was ready to push, and 4 more hours of pushing.) I am convinced that the epidural is what made it possible for me to rest, let my body relax and finish dilation, let the baby slowly move into the position she needed in order to be born. It slowed the whole process down, which is what I needed in order to have the strength to push her out.
)- birth is a private thing and in our culture and society it seems complicated by so many factors. I do have strong beliefs about it, but unless someone asks me why I think my choice is right for ME, I'll keep 'em to myself. It's hard though when you mention your choices and it seems like there are so many people ready to tell you can't do it and why you'll fail. 
I wish THEY would keep their ideas about birth to themselves too.
. In the hospital I was known as the "tiny patient who had a drug-free birth in 4 hrs (1 1/1hrs with my second). Even all the Dr.s and nurses were in awe 
! Made me feel amazing and even prouder of the choice I made.
. We all know sometimes things can take a turn and birth plans don't always go the way we want or imagine them to be. In your case, I hope you get whatever type of birth it is you want for you and your LO!!
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