Anyone end up going natural that didn't "plan" on it?

MrsBraun · May 2010

Hi ladies, congrats on your new LO's! Question from 3rd Tri - I'm sort of one of these "we'll see how things go" sort of people and I haven't made up my mind one way or the other about the epi vs. all natural.

Question is, in your opinion, is it possible to go natural with this sort of approach, or is a natural birth something you absolutely must set your mind on? I figure if that's the case then I might as well just get that out of my head since I'm not willing to commit fully to a med-free birth (I really just don't trust myself to be honest).

Thanks

Shortycube · May 2010

I wanted an epi some days, other days I though I might be able to do without. I was completely undecided until I went to the hospital. Turns out I wanted one but didn't have enough time (got to the hospital at 8cm dilated) I would go natural again.

karleen83 · May 2010

ALMOST!!! and it was horrible. i was given an epi at 9cm. i was 4cm (no ctrx) at my doc appt at 11am, got membranes stripped and was checked into l&d 2 hrs later w/ severe ctrx. i had to wait for a bed for almost an hour and almost passed out in the hallway while waiting! when i finally got a bed (2pm) i was at 9cm and i was screaming for an epi - magically i got one. my LO was born at 1645. i dont know how i lived through it. ok, maybe dramatic

but really. . . i only got to 5cm with my first before getting an epi, so this time was awful. good luck to you! and hats off to the ladies who went natural whether planned or not, you girls are my heroes.

ernocs · May 2010

Well...if you can and it's what you want, I say go for it. I hate pain, even though I should be used to it, so I had one. But then again, they had to induce me and I was lucky and had back to back contractions. Still wasn't dialated, and I had to have a C-Section since I wasn't dialting and she wasn't flowing with the contractions. But that's my story. My neighbor was the same way as shortycube, so she was lucky.

It's totally up to the person and their pain threshold. Like I said, I don't have much of one...so I knew I wanted one. Also, my OB told me that you never know what's going to happen. You could have an easy birth with hardly any pain or an easy birth with bad pain. Just plan for all contigencies, that is what she told me. And that's what I did...with the epi firmly in place. LOL!!

blondbomber23 · May 2010

My thought was that I'd most likely want an epi but I was open to whatever. I did fine pain-wise during labor and decided at 6 cm that I might try and go natural. I suddenly developed back labor at 9cm though and got an epidural.

I don't think that going natural is out of the question if you go in with an open mind.

anabell0920 · May 2010

It really has nothing to do with your pain tolerance and all to do with how committed you are, your support team and keeping yourself calm. I had a 24 hour (active) labor and if I had gone in thinking I would just see what happens I would have turned to the pain meds multiple times. But I prepared myself as much as I could physically and mentally, had a doula and a supportive husband. Sure there were very tough times but other times I was contracting hard and barely felt it and that's not due to pain tolerance because I was working hard!

My doula had told me if you really want a natural birth the worst thing is to just wait and see if you can do it. That's like signing up for a marathon and never training. Labor is a marathon, sure some woman have insanely fast births and don't have time for an epi but more than not that is not the case especially with a first time mom.

I don't mean to turn you away from a natural birth because I can say first hand it was the most amazing experience of my life and I never want a medicated birth but if you want to try give it your all it is worth it.

delphinus12 · May 2010

Well, that was my original plan- to "go with the flow" and see how I felt. To be honest, if I had had any choice in the matter I would've gotten an epi at 5cm. I was on Pitocin with back labor and after my water broke the contractions were hell.

I ended up not being able to get an epi because of a low platelet count (pre-e) but like I said, it wasn't my choice. I think a natural birth is definitely something you would have to set your mind to and be committed 100% and even then be prepared to change your mind!

MrsBraun · May 2010

Thanks ladies, the stories/opinions are great! I have all the respect in the world for those who go natural, and I'd love to say that I went med-free, but I just don't think I could do it and I think I'll end up with the epi..I don't want to have a defeatist attitude, I just want to be realistic!

KristinKD · May 2010

I'm late on this, but...

I went med-free with DD2, but not by choice. I ended up laboring at home too long -- I was trying to get some last-minute housework done -- and was 9cm by the time we got to the hospital. My water broke right after they checked me, and then it was time to push, so there wasn't time for an epidural. Transition was unbearably painful, and it didn't help that it happened during our 30-minute car ride. I was only able to get through it without any pain meds because I didn't have any other choice; if I had gone to the hospital earlier, I probably would have gotten another epidural. (I had one during my induction with DD1.) Still, I was very happy with the whole experience.

I think that if you want a med-free birth, you really need to prepare yourself for it. If you go in thinking you'll see what happens, you'll most likely end up with an epidural.

lesalia217 · May 2010

I planned to go natural, and I don't feel my prep helped (hahaha). I think it is possible for sure to go natural w/ no planning. I pushed for 6hrs and was transported to the hospital for a c/s, but I made it that long @ 10cm w/ no meds. Not a walk in the park, but I'm still here.

Babymamawithdrama · May 2010

I was a "go with the flow" girl. My water broke just before leaving work (my last day) and was in active labor about 20/21 hours before finally requesting an epidural while on the pitocin (I needed to take a nap - they anticipated at a minimum another 5 hours before delivery and was exhausted from the lack of sleep). I couldn't sleep the night before between the contractions and the constant monitoring for blood pressure/meds so didn't get any rest. However the epidural was too strong so after pushing a half hour they made we wait until the epidural wore off before pushing for another 2 1/2 hours. Total time just under 30 hours... glad to get the epidural, but think it was completely do-able to go drug free... maybe next time!

Shortycube · May 2010

MrsBraun:
Thanks ladies, the stories/opinions are great! I have all the respect in the world for those who go natural, and I'd love to say that I went med-free, but I just don't think I could do it and I think I'll end up with the epi..I don't want to have a defeatist attitude, I just want to be realistic!

i really think you can do it. just remember to breathe, breathe and breathe some more. they had to remind me to breathe because i came close to passing out from forgetting to breathe. i had fabulous nurses and have a fabulous husband that helped me to stay calm. you can do it!

krausen · May 2010

The nurse forgot to push my epi, so it wore off right before I started pushing. Honestly it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be; but I wasn't aware that my epi had even wore off, so I think that helped a bunch. I think if you go in thinking the best you could definitely keep an open mind about a med free birth. If you do want to try to go as far as possible w/o any meds I reccomend using your breathing & focusing, that helped me get through the contractions! GL with whatever you decide.

teelaman · May 2010

anabell0920:
It really has nothing to do with your pain tolerance and all to do with how committed you are, your support team and keeping yourself calm. I had a 24 hour (active) labor and if I had gone in thinking I would just see what happens I would have turned to the pain meds multiple times. But I prepared myself as much as I could physically and mentally, had a doula and a supportive husband. Sure there were very tough times but other times I was contracting hard and barely felt it and that's not due to pain tolerance because I was working hard!
My doula had told me if you really want a natural birth the worst thing is to just wait and see if you can do it. That's like signing up for a marathon and never training. Labor is a marathon, sure some woman have insanely fast births and don't have time for an epi but more than not that is not the case especially with a first time mom.
I don't mean to turn you away from a natural birth because I can say first hand it was the most amazing experience of my life and I never want a medicated birth but if you want to try give it your all it is worth it.

I agree and disagree - because I didn't do anything to "prepare" as far as classes or anything like that, and I labored for 13 hours without any pain medication before getting an epi, and I think if I had been more committed to doing it naturally, I could have. When I finally got the epi, I was already 8 cm, and by the time I was numb I was fully dilated and they had me pushing immediately. What I did have was an awesome L&D nurse who coached me through the contractions and literally, while I was laboring, taught me how to labor through the pain in the most effective way. So, maybe I'm just an exception - but I think it really has to do with the type of person you are, and your commitment to doing it one way or another, more so than how well you're "prepared" to go natural.