wanted epidural and then changed your mind?

[AmyMN]

Hi,

I'm wondering if there are any mamas out there that wanted an epidural during pregnancy, but by the time you were ready to give birth, you changed your mind and had an intervention-free birth?

What made you change your mind? Books, articles, people?

(I have 2 dds, intervention-free for both, one at home. I thought I'd have an epidural with the first pregnancy early on, but then had a massage therapist friend who started asking me about my choices and told me to do some research.)

I'm asking for some friends/relatives of mine.

[Mama Poot]

I never wanted an epidural, but got one anyways because I was doped up with Demerol and then presented with the epidural option. I went back and forth about it because the doc who came in to explain everything said straight up that I could go into a coma or die if I got it. So I got the damned thing and guess what, IT DIDN'T WORK. They aren't foolproof, and if your friend/relative, whoever you're asking this for is considering an epidural and has spinal issues, chances are the epi will not be much help, especially if they have a slipped disk like I do. My spine is hyperextended and the medicine from the needle cannot get to where it needs to go in order to be effective. I would ask them to make this a consideration when making a decision about pain treatment. I would also remind them that no amount of drugs can totally eliminate the pain of childbirth, and sometimes those drugs can make the pain worse.

[Chinese Pistache]

I never wanted one because I couldn't stand the thought of a big long needle penetrating my back. And like the pp said, they aren't foolproof. My sister got one and only one leg was numb--her hips and other leg were completely untouched. She hadn't prepared much with non-pharm pain relief methods so it really threw her. I think *everyone* should prepare to give birth without drugs because you just never know.

[Celery]

Early in ttc I wanted a c-section :

"babycatcher" by Peggy Vincent got me interested, "the thinking woman's guide to a better birth" by Henci Goer got me enthusiastic.

It's just safer to birth without drugs.

[ZeldasMom]

When I got pregnant with my first child I knew I wanted to have the kind of birth where I was making decisions and not having someone else's ideas pushed on me. I do not like having medical procedures done to me, so I was worried about this happening. So I opted for a midwife assisted birth. So for me the decision to have a midwife-assisted birth was about control, and not so much that I was this huge anti-drug/natural childbirth advocate. But then as I learned more about birth, I learned lots of reasons why I wouldn't want interventions like epidurals.

[AmyMN]

OP here:

Sorry, I should have specified why I'm asking.

I'm wondering how to reach people that say they wouldn't give birth without an epidural (my cousin's wife, a neighbor, a friend). I'm talking about people that are set in their thinking, and not into researching--they just take their doctors' word for it and say their doctor knows best. I'm talking about people that most likely are not looking to birth as a rite of passage or spiritual experience, but rather something to get over with. [I don't believe this of *everyone* that gets an epidural because obviously there are people that do their research and see birth as a rite of passage and still choose the epidural!]

Does the above paragraph describe you early in your pregnancy, but then you did a 180-turn-around and you decided to not have the epidural because of someone, something you read, etc.? What changed your mind?

Please note: I'm not looking down on people that choose the epidural. I just wish for everyone to have informed choices (since usually these people are getting just one side from the medical industry).

[indie]

The things that changed my mind were:

*The risks for the baby. (Nobody ever told me about the risks to me.)
*Finding out that there were people who did it who weren't right wing wackos with a twisted interpretation of the Bible (i.e. the pain in childbirth/Genesis thing)
*Realizing that I was being lied to. (Blatant contradictions and condecention(sp?) in my hospital childbirth class.)
*My doctor happened to be pro-natural birth. This made me question docs since she and the other docs couldn't both be right.

In the end, I didn't make the decision not to get the epidural until after I got to the hospital. I was still leaving the door open just in case. Now I'm a natural homebirthing junkie.

[Belle]

I was firmly ready to have an epidural at the begining of my pregnancy. But being the informed consumer that I am, I decided to take Bradley classes. I went into the classes not caring whether I got the epidural or not. By the end of the classes, I was firmly against epidurals. I had a spontaneous labor with no drugs.

The only thing I would do different in the future would be to not give birth in a hospital. It was a mostly positive birth, but I really don't know how I got so lucky. Since then I've doulaed in the same hospital where I gave birth and simple things like giving the mother food when she's hungry are denied mothers. My nurses brought me fruit, juice and crackers when I was in labor.