Are you having epidural?

hermanavelasquez · June 2014

Hello, girls. It is my first time in this board.

I am 23 weeks pregnant with my first baby and I've always wanted to have natural birth with epidural because I think that way I could enjoy the moment even more. But, I know how the epidural is administered (by inserting a large needle in your column), I've seen many times how it is performed and now that I am pregnant, thinking about having that needle inserted in my column is scary, I know this can be safe in the right hands, but is just too scary for me. So I dediced to go without epidural and my husband is supporting my decision and keep telling me that I am strong enough for standing the pain. I've seen many women giving birth without epidural and it is really painful, but they have survived!

Have you gone through natural birth without epidural? Would you change that if you could?

Are you having epidural? If not, What techniques are you willing to use to minimize the pain?

skr1619 · June 2014

I'm a little confused. When you say "natural" birth with epidural, are you meaning the natural part is giving birth vaginally?

TrendyTina · June 2014

I've had a medicated birth (epidural and pitocin) and an unmedicated water birth (no medication of any kind) and the unmedicated, natural birth was much better. I was in control of my body and was free to move as I saw fit. The recovery was also significantly easier. There was no grogginess afterward like with my medicated birth. Literally, as soon as the baby came out I felt like my normal self again. As far as the pain, it was completely manageable except for transition which only lasted about 20 minutes. One push and the baby was out. Hire a doula. Read everything you can and believe in yourself. Anyone can give birth without pain meds (assuming the birth is free of complications) and you can too! Good luck!

hermanavelasquez · June 2014

Yes, I mean vaginal birth. When I say natural birth I refer to not having a c-section. Sorry for the misleading term.

hermanavelasquez · June 2014

Thank you, TrendyTina!

TrendyTina said:

I've had a medicated birth (epidural and pitocin) and an unmedicated water birth (no medication of any kind) and the unmedicated, natural birth was much better. I was in control of my body and was free to move as I saw fit. The recovery was also significantly easier. There was no grogginess afterward like with my medicated birth. Literally, as soon as the baby came out I felt like my normal self again. As far as the pain, it was completely manageable except for transition which only lasted about 20 minutes. One push and the baby was out. Hire a doula. Read everything you can and believe in yourself. Anyone can give birth without pain meds (assuming the birth is free of complications) and you can too! Good luck!

sschwege · June 2014

Welcome! Most of the girls on this board are planning for or planned on having med-free births. They use the board name "Natural Birth" to mean med-free or low-intervention birth, not vaginal birth. I only explain this so you will understand that most women on here are not planning to have an epi and those who did not have one probably wouldn't have changed the fact.

I think the best place to start is finding a provider who will be supportive. Two good books I would highly recommend, "The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth" and "Ina May's Guide to Childbirth". You might look into taking a class and/or hiring a doula. We did not have a doula, but did Hypnobirthing both times and had a great experience!

Good luck in your journey!

barista411 · June 2014

You may want to check with the trimester boards, your BMB, the 0 - 3 month board, or the birth story board. They are more likely to have more moms who have experience with epidurals.

hermanavelasquez · June 2014

Thank you for all your answers and orientation. I will get those books, schwege, I really need them to prepare myself. Well, I will post this in another board.

marriedinaugust · June 2014

I went med-free with my son and plan to do the same with this one. Make sure all of the drs at your office are on board as well as the hospital because you will ve laboring with the nurses not the drs. If they are not on board look into changing practices or switching to midwives. Do as much reading as you can and look into taking a class that focuses on med-free birthing not just the one provided by the hospital. We did Bradley classes but there are plenty of options out there. Good luck!

KittyMisha · June 2014

I had a medically necessary induced labor last time due to PROM, and I did choose to get an epidural.

An epidural is not actually placed in the spine, just right up next to it. However, I had an epidural complication known as a wet tap, which is when they push the needle too far and puncture the spinal sheath. The immediate result was that it did not work correctly for me, completely deadening one side of my body and having no effect on the other, so that I ended up experiencing half my labor (the right half). The more long-term effect was that I had spinal headaches for weeks after delivery.

If you have never experienced a spinal headache, I recommend that you keep it that way. They are horrible. The pain is comparable in intensity to that of labor, although completely different in type. It is eliminated entirely when you lie down, which is nice, but there is no other method to eliminate it. Meds do exactly nothing. The upshot of this is that I spent weeks after the birth of my daughter lying down, unable to get up and function due to the screaming pain in my head. And when my little preemie baby had to go back to the hospital due to complications, my options were to stay home alone without pain or to go with her and endure the awful pain for 18 hours while she was being treated. I went.

This experience is the main reason I am so motivated to avoid an epidural this time around. Taken as a whole, labor pain was much shorter and less distressing than the weeks of headaches and enforced immobility while learning how to live with a newborn.

Hopeful1029 · June 2014

@hermanavelasquez‌ if you're interested in a non-medicated vaginal birth, check out The Bradley Method and try and get signed up for the classes. DH and I found them to be a phenomenal wealth of information and prep

jess9802 · June 2014

I lurk on this board, though I did not have an unmedicated delivery. Prior to getting my epidural, I managed the pain of my (induced) labor by spending some time in the jacuzzi tub in the hospital room. My hospital offers waterproof telemetry monitoring, so I was able to labor in there and have continuous fetal monitoring, along with the IVs for pitocin and the antibiotics I needed. I attempted the birthing ball but hated it.

The placement of the epidural was not painful - labor was very uncomfortable at that point. The epidural was placed too low to offer me complete relief and had to be redone, but once it was in, it worked great. It was turned down while I was pushing. I did not get a spinal headache and had no other side effects.

Whether you choose to get an epidural or not, I'd still look into other options for pain relief, because epidurals may not be available on demand or work perfectly for you. I thought the jacuzzi was fabulous, FWIW.

mrsblueeyes · July 2014

I had an epidural with my first secondary to PPROM and being stuck in bed with fluids and antibiotics. It wasn't bad - placement was easy and nothing more than a little uncomfortable. I felt almost nothing with it in place. It was annoying to have to wait for feeling to come back into my legs and to have assistance moving around, I also vomited a lot after delivery (assuming from the medication in the epidural) Recovery was very easy and without any additional side effects. My last 2 births were natural and wonderful. I loved having the freedom to move around, and recovery was even better - almost instant.

You need to decide what will work for you, and if you decide to go the med free route, education yourself, learn about coping techniques. Previous posters have had lots of great options. Best of luck!

kristend125 · July 2014

@hermanavelasquez I too had one birth medicated (epidural) and one unmedicated. Going without the epidural was MUCH better! I really wish I had gone without it the first time around, because I gave birth in November and I'm STILL raving about how awesome it was! You are in complete control, you aren't groggy, it's a complete adrenaline rush. I made sure the nurses knew not to ask me if I wanted anything..but to be honest, it wasn't even that painful for me. A tip I relied on was I labored on a birthing ball (this REALLY helps you with contractions! No special training needed; just jump on and roll on it with your hips to help you work through contractions.) At the same time I brought a comfort item (for me it was a towel--for whatever reason the feel of a towel is very comforting!) so while I rocked on the birthing ball I simply focused on the feel of the towel. It worked for every contraction. Anyway that was my tip for you! Good luck! You can totally do it

kristend125 · July 2014

I should also add to make sure you let them know that you would like to AVOID pitocin.. that will bring on very strong, unnatural contractions and you will most likely wind up getting an epidural.

momof2buggs · July 2014

I've gone through labor twice with no intervention/epidural. It hurts like hell, and it will likely cause you to question your decision to go without the epidural. But it's totally worth it, and I never experienced the postpartum depression that I had with my other 2 deliveries, which were pitocin inductions with epidurals. Recovery was much better, my babies latched easily when I nursed, etc. Overall, it was amazing, even though it was very painful. If you are into reading, or web surfing, read as many stories of natural birthing as you can. This is mainly what empowered me, because I kept reading all of the successful stories of women who could get through it without drugs, and I figured I could, as well. Good luck and congrats on your pregnancy.

LilTiger15 · August 2014

If you want to go without an epidural, let me recommend hypnobabies. It is a way to go medication free and not feel pain. Mind over matter! I did this with my first and can't wait to do it with my second. In my opinion, this is better than the Bradley Method, as the Bradley Method does not teach a way to avoid the pain. My BF chose the Bradley Method classes and ended up getting the epidural. She now wishes she had gone with hypnobabies instead.

ruemorgan · August 2014

I plan on avoiding pitosin and epidural. Every woman ive talked to said the pitosin was the only reason why they needed the epidural in the first place.

painttheair14 · August 2014

I think my epidural was the main reason I tore so much during my first birth (couldn't feel when to push, had to Kay on my back).

My second was a home birth and while there was more pain during labor, it was still manageable and recovery was 10000000 times better! I felt so good right afterwards!

bumpuser10336873 · August 2014

I'm a first time mom, planning for a natural birth. We're going to take a hypnobirthing class, if my placenta previa resolves. I'm also planning to decline pitocin and an epidural. I'm more opposed to the pitocin than the epidural, if I absolutely need the epidural I will consent to it...but I'd like to avoid it if possible! If the placenta previa doesn't resolve...none of my statement matters, I'll be having a c-section.

littlepawsbigears · August 2014

I hope to avoid it.

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