First baby i had natural with just gas and air second baby had to have a c-section, have to say having experienced both i much prefer natural, the recovery was quicker and the whole c-section thing just didnt feel right for me, im hoping to have vbac this time round ;)
My sister in law had 3 births without the epidural (it was too late to get it when she asked for all). She said she had an iv med that at least took the edge off but she can't remember the name. I tried one and it didn't even work and I hear others can make you loopy or sick. But you can also try that and try not to be in bed the whole time. I was stuck in bed the whole time because I had iva and wires hooked up.
I do not want one but i'm afraid i'll chicken out in the middle of labor lol.
I'm planning on natural but open to possibly using pain relief. Definitely don't want an epidural though. The thought of getting it is worse than the thought of labour to me!
It doesn't feel worse numb. Its not as bad as some think just from my experience. All I did though was went in with an open mind and knew my limits when I felt I needed to stop. By the time I got the epidural I was 8 cm.
A friend of mine will never get an epidural again bc she couldnt feel anything the epidural worked so well she couldnt even feel when her son was actually born and she feels like she missed out on such a beautiful bonding moment. Women dont need epidurals, its a luxury and I have no intention of having one used.
I'm going to wait until contractions start are as painful as I can stand then I'm getting an epidural because I would like to enjoy giving birth. That's because I don't have any tolerance for pain. I know if I don't get the epidural it would be too traumatic and I want to remember the birth of my girl and the miracle of child birth not passing out from pain.