3rd Trimester
vanessrose
member
Quick answer....Epidural or Natural
vanessrose
member
I am definately getting an epidural....without a doubt...I have an eleven year old girl and did with her. When I felt what a contraction was there was no way I would go natural.
Just curious why someone would or could want to deal with that pain? Just drop a line to say natural and why or epidural....just curious.
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Re: Quick answer....Epidural or Natural
Epidural. I take Alleve when my knee bothers me and tylenol when I have a headache. I look at it the same way - minimizing pain. The goal is to have a healthy baby and mother and the epidural will not prevent this.
Just my personal take.
Burned by the Bear
Where I live, you can't just opt for an epidural. You are encouraged to try other meds first, and then if needed, they will give you an epidural.
I am happy to try without one (I have heard that sometimes they don't work if they are not placed properly and that babies sometimes have troubles latching on if the mother is given an epidural), but I won't be too upset if I have to have one for a C-section or because things are progressing due to pain and discomfort. I'm just going to see how it all goes!!!!
~Working Mom~Breastfeeding Mom~Cloth Diapering Mom~BLW Mom~
Blog - No Longer on the DL ~ The Man Cave
Shawn and Larissa
LO #1 - Took 2 years and 2 IVFs ~ DX - severe MFI mild PCOS homozygous MTHFR (a1298c)
LO #2 - TTC 7 months, surprise spontaneous BFP!
This exactly!!! I'm one tough woman and feel I can handle the pain. It's for a good cause and I know the pain will end as soon as the baby is out.
BFP #1 3/13/13, MMC 4/17/13, D&C 4/19/13
BFP #2 8/7/13, Beta at 4w6d = 3,796
I have to say that during my last pregnancy, I educated myself on going natural for the entire pregnancy and was so determined. Once they broke my water and I felt that first REAL contraction, I was done. Sadly, I was not as brave as I thought, nor did I care at that point.
More power to those women that did it natural! Just wasn't for me.
This. The risk for additional interventions that comes with an epi is not worth it for me. I'm a firm believer that our bodies are meant to give birth without pain relief.
I am going to try natural (FTM). My mother had an epidural and a natural birth and she said she felt so much better after the natural birth. She could immediately get up and move around. She said the epidural gave her the shakes and made her vomit. Could have just been her experience but I am going to try natural as long as possible. Though I have told my doctors that I would like to know when time is getting short to get the epidural so i can make the last minute decision to get one if i change my mind.
Natural. At the hospitals in my area (from what I've been told by friends who delivered there) having an epidural means constant fetal monitoring, an automatic IV, ice chips only, and pretty much being confined to a bed the whole time. Not what I want at all. I want the freedom to move the way my body feels is necessary, to labor in water, and to eat and drink as I see fit. I am not going to feel like a failure if the pain is way more than I imagined and I end up requesting an epidural, but I don't feel there's any reason to go in expecting one. I'm going to take it one contraction at a time, and I am confident I can make it through.
How about the huge needle they shove into your back for one, that if you move when they put it in can actually cause paralysis? Also how about both of my sisters still have problems with their back and headaches ever since theirs? I have done it four times and would rather feel every contraction than to have problems 15 years later.
And please don't tell me the two are not related. I don't have their problems and neither does my mother who went natural. But then again I have a high tolerance for pain.
Natural birth. Ditto to PP. Our bodies were meant to do this; don't want to be drugged and confined to a bed; want to avoid as many interventions as possible; I've heard that people push longer with the epi. Plus, while I understand birth is a different type of pain, I have experienced pain throughout my life (migraines and a back problem a few years ago) and I try and minimize the pain medication I take. I also don't like the way pain medications react with my body. Finally, I'm a very stubborn person and if you tell me I can't do something I ignore you and figure out a way to make it happen.
I will also say that despite my own personal opinions about an epi, everyone is different and I don't judge those who make a choice different from my own (heck I may even change my mind once I get to the hospital). (This probably stems from the fact that a lot of people I work with look at me like I have 5 heads when I say natural childbirth.) To each her own.
i did it natural with both of my children. I knew i could deal with it as long as my labors were under 10 hours or so. i would have opted for it if they were any longer than that. but my labors were short so it didnt matter. 6 hours and 3 hours.
i was fine until the end, then it gets a little overwhelming but not intolerable.
Epidural.
However, I'll ask for it to be turned down at 8 cm and off at 9 cm so that I can feel when to push.
It was turned down 1 hr prior to pushing, and completely off 30 minutes prior to pushing when I had DD1 and I couldn't feel a thing and had a hard time pushing.
ETA: I've been considering trying to go natural longer than I did the first time and utilizing the birthing tub and massage, but I'm pretty much expecting to get an epi unless this time goes much quicker.
David "BD" 2/8/07 Spencer 9/12/11Epidural all the way! I had one with my son and it gave my body the ability to relax and dialate. Went from a 2 -8 in just an hour... since I was stuck at 2cm for 15 hours it was a blessing.I did do natural labor for a good 10 hours then tried alternatives before the epi.
I did try iv drugs which did squat for me... I was up walking around getting yelled at as I was not suppose to be walking while drugged. I also tried Laughing gas once and vomited all over my nurse, she was nice
This time I will labor for awhile on my own and when the pain gets too intense ill go straight for the epi.
Natural for a lot of the reasons already posted it. Outside of pregnancy, I have horrible health. Pregnancy seems to be the one thing my body can do without help, so why should I interfere?
Plus, I would rather be prepared for a natural childbirth and at the last minute get an epidural than not be prepared, be planning on an epidural and it not work at all or only partially (happened to a friend).
I also feel like my chances of tearing are reduced without an epidural because I will have a better sense of my body while pushing. And I'll have more options during labor (e.g., moving around as I need to, no need for a catheter).
I'm sorry but I really hate the "our bodies were made to do this and every women could go natural if they had to" statements. Consider how many women died in childbirth before modern medicine. Not to mention the babies that died to. I'm all for going natural as a personal choice, but saying that every woman should or could have a baby come out either way just as safely is just wrong. I ended up with an emergency c-section, if it weren't for modern medicine me or my baby could very well be dead. Or I guess I should've opted to have the dr cut me open with no pain meds since that would be the natural way to get the baby out. . . .? Imagine the women who had to go through that before meds were available. I thank my lucky stars I didn't have that type of experience. I just think it is awful to say that just because women are biologically inclined to give birth that we should feel guilty for using modern medicine to aid in birth whether its for pain relief of to save a life.
duplicate post, sorry
I don't think that's what she was saying.
Also, modern medicine is not the same as modern pain medicine. No woman in her right mind chooses to refuse intervention that could save her life or the life of her baby. Choosing to go med-free doesn't mean you choose to avoid intervention at any cost.
I'm going to TRY to have him naturally. I've got a pretty high pain tolerance, but the keyword here is TRY. I tend to get nauseous when I take any sort of painkiller so I'd like to try and avoid that. My mom had epi's with both my brother and sister and had me naturally. With my brother, she doesn't remember holding him for the first time; with my sister, it only numbed half of her body. She said she felt pretty good after having my naturally, so I'm going to try and do the same. I'm a FTM though so I really can't say for sure how things will turn out. The thing is, it's not going to be a pleasant experience any way you look at it, they don't call it "labor" for nothing!
I didn't find it to be particularly unpleasant and I look forward to doing it again. It was hard work, but it's also the only time that I've felt so strong and done something so amazing
~Working Mom~Breastfeeding Mom~Cloth Diapering Mom~BLW Mom~
Blog - No Longer on the DL ~ The Man Cave
Shawn and Larissa
LO #1 - Took 2 years and 2 IVFs ~ DX - severe MFI mild PCOS homozygous MTHFR (a1298c)
LO #2 - TTC 7 months, surprise spontaneous BFP!
This, for me. I'm not opposed to an epidural, but I didn't have one last time and if I can avoid it and avoid the potential interventions/complications that can result from an epidural, I will.
Should I tell the story about a friend who ended up with a c-section because she couldn't relax but was anti-epidural and tried sticking it out? I won't, because I am not one to use fear tactics, like the chick above.
I was going to go natural, but when I had to have pitocin, I wisely chose the epidural. I too had a c-section (not due to the meds, but because my baby flipped and was sunny side up) and guess what... it was fantastic, painless, and I was up and about in 24 hours.
Actually, at one point they gave me Nubain, BEFORE they knew I was having a c-section. I'd recommend avoiding that - an epidural doesn't cause you to hallucinate.
Obviously any woman planning to go natural will do whatever is necessary to get the baby out healthy if need be. Women didn't die in the past because they were in too much pain...they died (and babies died) because medicine wasn't as advanced at the time and interventions like an emergency c-section weren't available.
wow great response...amazed at how many brave,strong women there are!!!
good luck to you all whether you go natural or have an epidural...we all just want to have a healthy baby in the end... Everyone is different and no one should judge anyone.
thanks ladies have a good night!!!
Epidural.
For me, I would've liked the experience of going natural. But I live in the deep south, and the OB practices around here are about 20 years behind the times. At the hospital where I had DS, there were no birthing tubs, no birthing balls, no walking during labor, everyone gets an IV, and you're required to lay in bed. After I was started on Pit, I wasn't even allowed to get up to pee...I had to go in a bedpan. I could've gone natural, but it would've been a helluva lot harder than at another facility that's more open to natural births.