Natural Birth
To Epi or Not To Epi?
This will be my first child and I have really been bouncing back and forth about having an epidural. Almost everybody I know who has been through child birth has had one. I keep hearing "Get It!", "YES!", and "If you don't you're crazy!" but I'm still kind of on the fence about it. My fiance has had an epidural and he HATED it. He gets crazy pains in his back. He can still feel exactly where it went in, and I don't want to end up like that + a baby on my hip. Also, I'm not really psyched up about the idea of my baby being put in danger (lower heartbeat, drugged up when born, etc).
Is it possible to get through the pain without the epidural or should I just bite the bullet and get it for my own sake? HELP!!!
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Re: To Epi or Not To Epi?
It's a personal choice, but I loved going through med free childbirths. For my first I read books on the Bradley method and saw midwives to increase my chances of going med free. It was an amazing experience. For my second, I took it a step further and went for a home birth which was equally amazing.
The good thing is you don't need to decide immediately. If I were you, I'd do some reading (my favorite book was Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way) and see what you think. I knew that there may have been situations outside my control that would have made it a necessity for me to get an epidural, but I did everything I could to prepare myself to go without it.
And just to answer this specifically...YES it's completely possible to get through without the epi. I didn't get the epi for my own sake
Women did it for thousands of years and while I think it's nice to have the option, it's certainly not a necessity. I would also say that depending on your labor, the pain might not be that bad. With my daughter it honestly was not. My son's birth was a lot harder, but he was born sunny side up which made a big difference - and he was also over 9lbs! Honestly, today I can't remember the actual pain - it was forgotten very quickly but I do remember enough to know that it was harder!
I recieved an epi for my first because I have scar tissue on my cervix and the OB was going to go in to open things up abit.... However, I hated the process of recieving the Epi. It hurt like heck and the Dr made my DH leave the room while they set it up.
As mentioned in PP's you can manage the pain other ways. Just relise that if you are induced, like they use Pitocen, the contractions will be more intense and you may WANT the Epi. If you have no induction, you are less likely to need it because the contractions should be more gradual, less intense.
Just as a simple barometer...I have read plenty of posts on The Bump about epidurals not working, and wearing off at the wrong time, and leaving lasting nerve pain, and the like. And plenty of posts by women who wanted natural births and feel like they "caved" by getting an epidural. But never have I read a post in which a woman said she regretted going med-free.
Considering this is the Natural Birth board and pretty much everyone here is planning on giving birth without the epi, I am not sure you are going to get the un-biased opinion you are looking for?
I didn't get the epi last time and don't plan on it this time. The spiral of interventions that can be associated with medicated pain management is just not worth it for me. My last labor was difficult, but I never even consider the epi...of course I was at home and it was not really an option.
I will say that if you are planning on giving birth in a hospital and decided you really do not want the epi that you need to do your research and prepare yourself because most women who go in without a plan and a just see attitude usually end up getting the epi. If you are ok with that happening- great, but if you think you are going to be upset in the end- do something about it now.
GL
LOL There actually is a woman on my BMB. She had a fast labor and no time to get the epi and is pretty bitter about it. She is totally planning on getting one this time.
I think in our society there is a weird fear of childbirth. In my experience, when you psyche your self out and get tense about the pain you end up making the pain worse. I believe that, while with my first/only I was induced and consequently needed an epi, that a med/ intervention free labor is absolutely possible! If people don't support you then I would invite them and their negative views out of your pregnancy. For me, that means totally ignoring my in-laws, who make fun of me for wanting a natural birth. Be prepared and make sure your coach is ready and it will go great! I really enjoyed the Pink Kit, if even for the confidence it gave me that a baby could actually fit through my pelvis. (thepinkkit.com) Bradley and Hypnobirthing are also very popular.
Of course only you can decide, but I would bet the people who are telling you get it and you'd be crazy not to have never even considered a med-free birth. If I hadn't done any preparation for the labor, I would probably tell someone the same thing.
But most of us here are as prepared as can be, in the same way someone trains for a marathon or something. Hell, if you asked these women if you should climb a mountain, would they support you or say, "no way, just get airlifted to the top- the veiw is the same!!" There's something to be said about the climb though. Make sense?
I've had an epidural too, with my first and the same thing happened to me. I can still feel where I got it, and for at least 7 months, I felt lower back pain in that spot every single time I bent over. It was NOT worth the pain relief I got during labor.
Hang out here, ask questions, read natural birth stories. While my med-free birth was painful, it wasn't the worst pain I'd ever experienced, and truly, it was something I wanted to feel. Good luck with your decision.
This is a personal choice and one you and the baby's dad need to decide. My labor was induced and I was on pit the whole time. I was bed ridden due to Magnesium sulfate(muscle relaxer given for Pre-E). I did cave and asked for a pain reliever(hindsight I wish I hadn't). I avoided the epidural, and I'm very,very grateful! My body was designed for labor/delivery. I wanted to feel and have some control. Lastly if you just focus on something, for the first few hours it was TV then it was eyes closed and prayers, it helps. Oddly I loved having my belly rubbed(hated this during pregnancy) during contractions. I believe you can go without an epidural and ignore the naysayers.
Also if going epi-free makes you crazy, then welcome to the crazy train its a fun ride! People are funny...I got, "if you go without an epidural you're more woman than I." I'm no better woman but didn't want the risk that epidurals run.
This is my first post on this board, but I wanted to say the same thing happened to me. My water broke at 1030 and though I had been timing contractions, they were not painful AT ALL until my water broke. By the time I got to the hospital at 11 and was checked, I was fully dialated. I had to wait for 40 minutes until my doctor got there. HOWEVER, I am so glad I did not get the epidural and YES you can do it. I was ready to get an epi but had mentally prepared in case I could not get one and am so thankful that I was prepared. I am in no way bitter and the only complaint I have is that since I waited so long at 10 without pushing, I pushed too hard and tore pretty bad (my son came out in one push and the doctor literally had to catch him). But I love knowing that I can do it and will do it again. I will just prepare even more this time. Good luck.
SUCH a great point!!! Thank you, I will use this one next time someone tries to discourage me.
Just wanted to share with everybody that a friend of mine had her son this morning and she went all natural. One push and he was out and adorable! I think this was the last push I needed to commit to the idea of doing this without an epi.
Thank you all for your input! It has helped immensely!