Need Opinion: Natural birth or Epidural

[miko_latte]

Just out of curiousity, how many women have had natural births or plan to have natural births? And how many women have used epidural.  Does epidural have risks during the delivery?

[miko_latte]

Thank you all for your opinions!! Hopefully I can bear the pain, but if not then I wouldn't mind getting the epid.  I am not even close to delivering, but it was just something that came to mind. My best friend just had a baby girl last evening, naturally! She said she was gonna get the epid, but decided to havethe baby naturally, and she HATES pain, so I guess having a baby naturally wasn't that bad, well at least for her.  I've been walking around alot because I hear it helps with an easier delivery...The only thing about epid is I heard that if it is inserted the wrong way it can leave permanent damage to the back/spinal cord...they say it's not that often but it just might be my luck, that's kinda scary to me...

[LosingMyMindInGA]

I do agree that natural tends to have the best recovery time.  Any time drugs are involved, recovery is longer and side effects may present.  Natural is just that....the way it was MEANT to be.  I know some women are very apprehensive about labor without meds.  Women are built to withstand this kind of thing whether they think they can or not.  Yes, it hurts during the labor.  Some contractions are worse than others.  When I went natural my then 9 yo heard me screaming "get it out" from the waiting room .  But all things considered that was my best experience. If I choose that again and I will most likely aim for that route....I will research relaxation techniques and perfect them before labor time :)

[Leanna26]

I think i am going to go with the epidural, what I am terrified of is getting an episiotomy

[kris777]

I had the epidural and thought it was absolutely wonderful!  I was happy and all my family were just hanging out in the room up until it was time to push.  I only did about 20 minutes of pushing and had my son:)  I didn't feel any pain, only some pressure..............I loved it and will do it again this time around.

[mamaofonetrying42]

I loved my epid!! I think he gave me to much,LOL. This time around Im also thinking about do it nat. but I really dont think I will. I was in so much pain, I couldnt talk or even think stright. After the epid I could talk, take a nap(try) and I could really in jolly the deliver. I wish you luck in whatever road you go!

[anncarter]

With my first delivery, I had an epidural. It worked pretty good but it only numbed my left side...I could still feel the contractions on the right.

With my second I just had Stadol. I did not like that at all. It didn't help with my pain, just made me so loopy that I couldn't do anything about it.

With my third, I didn't have anything (they kept telling my I wasn't in labor and when they walked me over to induce me I was 9 cm!). I won't lie to you...it was painful. But, if I ever had another child, I would try to go natural again. I felt wonderful afterwards...I was able to get up and around quicker too.

I always went in to labor with the mindset that I was going to go natural, but kept the option of meds open! LOL

Best of luck!
Ann

[LosingMyMindInGA]

another thing that REALLY helps is having a very supportive team of nurses/doctor/husband whoever.  With #3 I had told the nurse I REALLY wanted to try natural...and every time I started asking for meds she would tell me "come on honey, you can do this, it's not that bad, you're strong, hang in there"  and I did.  I tried the same with #4 but didn't have quite as supportive of a team and I gave in.  

If you think you may want to try natural...start researching different relaxation techniques and begin practicing them.  

[LosingMyMindInGA]

ok i'm posting this before reading anyone elses responses:  I have given birth 4 times and each time was different so I'll tell you about each experience and then tell you which  I felt was the best.  

Kid #1:  Emergency C-Section.  Intrauterine Growth retardation at around 7 mos gestation.  Pregnancy was full term 9 mos.  Fluid was disappearing.  not leaking...I guess I just wasn't producing more.  I was sedated and given a spinal block.  I couldn't move anything from the chest down for several hours... VERY annoying...was in moderate pain for several days.  

Kid #2:  full term, no complications, went into labor, got to hospital, no heartbeat.  I was given the option of c-section or vbac.  Even though we knew this was a stilborn I opted for VBAC just to see if I could do it.  I was doped on morphine and sedated.  labor lasted 17 hours becuase I was out of it most of the time.  

Kid #3:  full term no complications, water broke at 12:30 am, got to hospital around 1:30 completely natural...not drugs at all, 3 sets of 3 pushes and baby was out at 6:20 am.  Afterwards I felt completely normal, VERY VERY little pain, no episiotomy, no ripping.

Kid #4:  full term no comps, water started leaking in the am...was admitted to hopsital at 4:20 pm...had epidural about 10 til 6...as they were doing the epidural I felt the baby drop...when they went to turn me back to a laying position the nurse said "he's coming" she could already see the head...he was born at 6 pm.


Personally I had the easiest recovering going with no drugs at all....that's not to say I wasn't ready to tear limbs off of people DURING labor...but over all it was the best experience.  Minutes after delivery I felt like I had never gone through any of it....and at one point in between sets of pushing the baby stopped with her head right there stretching me.  

Those are my experiences, hope this helps....

[irrelevance]

I don't think I'm strong enough [maybe a lack of confidence there] to give birth naturally.. and by strong enough, i mean to bare the pain. I plan fully on going with the epidural.

[krissyy]

my two best friends went with epidural and said that it was the best thing ever!

[njeosys]

Oh baby I was crying for that epidural! I don't have a high threshold for pain. First birth was hard because I couldn't seem to catch my breathe during contractions and my DH wasn't being a help to me at all.

Second birth was a lot easier (and longer!) but because I had my husband supporting me, helping me breath and focus, it was a much more pleasant experience. I ended up having an epidural this time as well. I wanted to be able to REST before I gave birth.

Side effects include soreness in your back, numb and tingly legs as you're coming off the epidural (which can also make you have shaky legs when you try to walk). Docs always deny this is because of the epidural, but I believe my right side of my body is more stiff since having one, and even a little more swollen (like my right foot is slightly puffier than the left).

My sister had all three of her girls naturally and always recommends it. I always recommend epidurals because I want to be able to rest and relax and think about my baby's arrival (hard to do when you're in constant pain). So it is just up to you and your personality!

[ashleighnb]

I had an epidural. I always believed that I had a high pain tolerance until the doctor put me on pitocin and those strong contractions hit me. I turned into a monster and demanded they give me meds right then. It is a personal choice. I know some people say that you miss out on the experience or the baby is groggy, etc. but I still remember every minute of my daughters birth and she was wide awake and alert afterwards. I think if you believe that you can handle it go ahead and do it natural and if it gets too intense ask for epidural. Like kjbutcher said everyones experience is unique.

[kjbutcher]

i planned to have an epidural but got to the hospital too late.  I was very lucky because I was only in painful (more painful than a bad period) labor for 3.5 hours total.  I know for a fact that if i would have had the option I would have taken it.  I actually plan to get one with my next child.  I will tell you this though, the actual delivery was not bad at all.  As soon as you get a contraction you push and the pushing doesnt hurt, at least it didnt for me.  It felt much better to push than just sitting there through the contraction.  If it is really something you are struggling with maybe you could leave it open and see what you think as you go along.  If you feel you can not tolorate the pain anymore, get the epidural, if you can control the pain dont get one.  My point, dont be scared of the delivery itself.  I wouldnt get one just because you are scared to deliver with out it.  It is the labor part that is painful.  As other people have said, the pain is managable.  I really had no idea that I was so far along.  I thought I was going to get to the hospital and they were going to tell me I was 4 cm or something.  I thought that the pain was going to get much worse than it really was.  My recomendation for a natural labor, hire a doula that can massage well.  The back massage through contractions saved me.  To be very honest about this, epidural or not, everyones experience is unique and that is what will be special to you.  Good Luck!

[Shann257]

I am a nurse and have personally delivered both ways.  The epidural like any other medical procedure comes with it risks fortunetly the risks are not common.  One of the the risk is headaches.  One of the risk is mentioned above is that you receive the epidural to late and it does not work.  NO matter what happens the only thing natural is just giving birth no matter how.

[Tasia32]

I personal plan on having natural childbirth when the time comes but if you want to get the epidural feel free.

[luv2bmommy]

like the other two girls said, sometimes epidurals dont work. several of my friends say the same thing. plus they say your back sometimes suffers from that later on in life. im not sure if thats true just what i heard. i had my two children naturally. it wasnt that bad, it sure looks scary though if you watch shows like Birth Day! But its an amazing experience and you CAN control it. Its really just your decision and what you think you can handle.

[sexyhot_dandy]

i think the epidural is ok i had it wid my frist child and i dont think it worked me for me i was screamin and tellin the nurse the go get the doctor after givin birth my back was stiff for a while and i felt umcomfortable i guess it was a side effect this time am takin pain medication instead and i dont want a c-section i rather get a snip and be sore for couples days than be cut and stitched and stapled.

[degriffdog]

nevermind on how far along you are i just realized from reading other post that you are due around the same time i am. So in that case, you have a while to figure out what you want to do and get input from friends and family.  When it gets closer to delivery your dr should go over options and risks for having or not having a epi.  You'll know what is best when the time is here.

[degriffdog]

well with my first i had a epidural and loved it.  With my 2nd one I had another one but unfortunaly it never worked and I had to deliver naturally.  I'm now prego with #3 and I'm not sure what I'll do, probably try natural again unless it gets too painful.  How long before you have to make this decision?