Lurker from January here. I had my first at a birth center. No option for an epidural. I knew I would survive the pain and not having the option made it easier. If I had been in the hospital there's a chance I would have caved and gotten one. I'm glad the option wasn't there because it forced me to stick to my guns.
With my first I was interested in going natural (no medications) but I wasn't sure if I could handle it. I read the Bradley Method (Natural Childbirth) and it gave me so much confidence in my ability to deliver drug-free! It made me excited to go natural. I went into labor saying I was going to try to go natural (and I really felt I could) but I wasn't going to beat myself up or feel guilty if I changed my mind and got the epidural. I didn't want to have a negative experience or feel bad for a long time afterward. I wanted the birth experience to be positive for me no matter how it played out. I did end up delivering my baby drug free and I was glad I did it. It was empowering and I felt like my body knew what it was doing. Labor/delivery is different for everyone so keep and open mind and remember that you can't control how things go. You can't be sure your will go into labor on your own, or not need a c-section or whatever. I would highly recommend reading the Bradley method book! It helped me feel so confident about going drug-free!
I wanted one with my first but waited to long and couldn't... The labor wasn't the worst part for me it was that I torn really bad and hemorrhaged so all the stitches were the worst part to me. So with my second I had one as soon as they would let me and it was like heaven... This time around I'm planning on getting another one if at all possible.
I am not sure what I will do, I have done lots of research about pros and cons. Ultimately, I want this baby to get here as safely as possible, so if that means in that moment I want an epidural to deal with the pain and get her out that is what I will do, if I don't need it I won't. I am going into this with that mindset that whatever it takes for her to enter this world in the safest manner is what will happen and I will do my best not to beat myself up over whatever the outcome is.
I'm thinking I won't have it , everytime I tell people they tell me oh trust me your going to want it. I hate it when they say that It looks painful but not every labor is the same everyone is different. Hey who knows maybe I can do it without it!
I requested it after they broke my water and the contractions came fast and furious. I am not sure I would have made it through without one! I would say do your research but keep an open mind because on that day, things might quickly change!
OMG, no kidding! I thought things were bad before my OB came in and broke my water.
Haha yeah I think what happened with me was different than what docs expected: I was induced at 9 am and had made Zero progress by 3 pm. That's when they broke my water. Then it was immediate progress and extremely painful. I got the epidural and then took a nice little nap. It was glorious. When I was ready to go (around 730 pm) I couldn't feel a thing to the point that they had to turn epidural off so I could push harder. Still couldn't feel anything but he was born at 9 pm.
I requested it after they broke my water and the contractions came fast and furious. I am not sure I would have made it through without one! I would say do your research but keep an open mind because on that day, things might quickly change!
OMG, no kidding! I thought things were bad before my OB came in and broke my water.
Haha yeah I think what happened with me was different than what docs expected: I was induced at 9 am and had made Zero progress by 3 pm. That's when they broke my water. Then it was immediate progress and extremely painful. I got the epidural and then took a nice little nap. It was glorious. When I was ready to go (around 730 pm) I couldn't feel a thing to the point that they had to turn epidural off so I could push harder. Still couldn't feel anything but he was born at 9 pm.
I was kind of like that. I was 41w1d when I was induced. I was at 0 dilation and 0 effaced. That was 7pm that night. By the next morning, I was still the same except that the baby had dropped down a little bit. My OB broke my water at 8am and opened me up manually to a 3cm. After that, it went fast for me, too. I was at 10cm by lunch and baby was born a little after 4pm.
I took a childbirth class with my husband before my first child was born and that really helped me understand my options and get through L&D 6 times without an epidural. I believe it was a Lamaze class. They have a lot of helpful information on their website Lamaze.org
I'm so scared of needles - even basic blood work makes me almost pass out...... So, I'm probably going without the epidural. I have a decently high pain tolerance, so I guess it'll be okay. Of course, emergencies happen, but we are praying for healthy and "easy"!
I'm so scared of needles - even basic blood work makes me almost pass out...... So, I'm probably going without the epidural. I have a decently high pain tolerance, so I guess it'll be okay. Of course, emergencies happen, but we are praying for healthy and "easy"!
I am the same way with needles... I pass out. I also have a high pain tolerance and was hoping for an easy delivery. I had an emergency c section.
But it gets to a point in labor where you just don't care anymore. I can't explain it, but I have never been more excited about getting a shot than I was about grtting that epidural! Haha
With my first I didn't have an epi. His labor was start to finish 12 hours including 55 mins of pushing. It was a great experience. My husband and I went to hypnobirthing classes and followed that. It really made a difference. Of course I am open minded to getting one- just would rather do it without.
With my first I didn't have an epi. His labor was start to finish 12 hours including 55 mins of pushing. It was a great experience. My husband and I went to hypnobirthing classes and followed that. It really made a difference. Of course I am open minded to getting one- just would rather do it without.
The classes aren't in our budget but I have purchased a hypnobirthing book and CD. I'm already feeling differently about this birth. I was dreading it last time and I'm kind of excited for this one!
There was this AMA on r/babybumps that you ladies may be interested in. An L&D nurse who talks about the commanality of epidurals as well as a ton of other very helpful tips and insight to the day to day goings on of a Labor and Delivery suite. Another nurse pipes up about halfway through about how 99% of patients end up getting an epidural.
Personally, I will get one if necessary. I have read that sometimes things advance so quickly that by the time the pain is hitting the threshold of needing it, it's time to push. I am hoping I will be one of those cases, if not, I will get one when my nurse thinks the time is right.
^^Agree. After hearing stories from friends who have had babies already... I definitely plan to have one. I don't see how anyone can decide until they see how labor goes it could be essential to avoiding a csection. Many friends had stalled labors until they got the epidural and then they relaxed as the pain subsided and the babies came right out. Other pain relief alternatives like narcotics mess with your brain and memory and I do not want to miss this experience or wish I had taken the epi when it's too late to do so! Also, if you do end up needing a true emergency c-section they won't have to put you to sleep since you will already have the epidural.
My advice would be to not base your decision based on this post. Instead read some books or articles, even some YouTube videos. I thought I would want one then realized I want to be able to feel my legs, I want to walk around before and after birth and I don't want a catheter.
I always assumed I wanted an epidural but I recently started thinking about how much I hated the feeling of the sedation for my wisdom teeth and how I have preferred the pain to the narcotics they prescribed afterwards (the other times narcotics were prescribed i thought they made me feel worse than the pain). Anyway based on those previous experiences with pain I realized I might actually prefer the pain to the epidural. So, I'm leaving my options open but I will make whatever decision makes the experience most bearable to me.
I always assumed I wanted an epidural but I recently started thinking about how much I hated the feeling of the sedation for my wisdom teeth and how I have preferred the pain to the narcotics they prescribed afterwards (the other times narcotics were prescribed i thought they made me feel worse than the pain). Anyway based on those previous experiences with pain I realized I might actually prefer the pain to the epidural. So, I'm leaving my options open but I will make whatever decision makes the experience most bearable to me.
I'm all for remaining open but I wanted to say that an epidural is really nothing like taking a narcotic. Maybe think of something more like a novicane shot for dental work. It just numbs things. When I had the epidural it was set up with a pump and I had a button so I had control over the amount. I used very little throughout and was still able to feel when to push and push when I wanted. It just took the edge off the contractions.
Man! This thread has been going on forever. I guess I'll go ahead and chime in. If I did already sorry for repeating myself. I scrolled through and don't think I saw my name anywhere.
Get ready for a novel! It's pretty much DS's birth story.
I never planned on getting one, but I never said I would refuse. I unknowingly started going into premature labor on a Saturday evening. I'd been uncomfortable all weekend and L&D said to rest with lots of water. When DH and I went to bed around 10PM that Sat. night, he was out and I couldn't sleep from super uncomfortable cramps. They would start in the back and just radiate to the front. I never thought to time them, but every time I would close my eyes it would happen again. I'd check my clock six maybe seven minutes had gone by and it happened again. All. Night. Long. Longest night trying to sleep, and by morning I got so frustrated from zero minutes of sleep and cramps, I called again. They told me to come in, when DH and I got there around 9AM or so on Sunday morning, they hooked me up and sure enough I was having real contractions and was dilated 2cm. They automatically hooked me up and gave me the mag, but it only made the contractions feel worse for me though it slowed them down. By around 8PM, I got to 5cm and we knew DS was coming no matter what since I was on the max amount of mag. My body was still going to town with the contractions, and they gave me the option of getting an epidural. They got me off the mag, and I went ahead and went with the epidural since at that point I knew I'd be too exhausted to push and was worried about DS getting distressed and me perhaps needing an emergency c-section. It didn't take too long for the anesthesiologist to get there. I think I got the epidural 2 hours before DS was born. They gave it to me, broke my water and I went from 7cm to ready to push within those two hours. I was able to get a little bit of rest before go time. I definitely needed it since even after DS was born, I had to wake up every two hours to start pumping colostrum and tried to get his milk to come in.
Married 05.19.07 | Together since 03.11.00 | Dom Born 02.06.12
I don't think people not wanting epidurals are trying to be heroes necessairly. Certain people epidurals don't really take, some people need tons of interventions as epis tend to slow labour, then they give oxy/pitocin, causes fetal tachycardia or late heart rate decels, then next thing you know they are further intervening, forceps/episiotomy/vaccum/c sec. This is pretty normal in labour and delivery and you can see it happen almost daily. So trying without an epidural at first makes sense. I think sometimes they are completely necessary (like shoulder dystocia), and can be heaven sent. It really is a case by case basis!
Thank you this is so true . It's not about being a "hero" at all. It's about making a decision from a place of awareness where you know what's best for you and your baby. Some moms do have very low pain tolerance, feel more comfortable having an Epi etc. and that's okay.
Because of the way my disks are herniated from a car accident I've been advised that I will need a spinal tap if I'm going to have one, I'm good without it unless they cutting me open. There is a good chance I'll have to have a c section because if I progress to preeclampsia my doctor is not even going to attempt to induce they are just going to go in and get baby out. My family (my dads two sisters and my sister) have all had no luck whatsoever with labor naturally and all needed emergency C Sections. I'm hoping I can keep the kidney function up and the blood pressure down so I can see if I'm the lucky one who can actually give birth naturally.
Man! This thread has been going on forever. I guess I'll go ahead and chime in. If I did already sorry for repeating myself. I scrolled through and don't think I saw my name anywhere.
Get ready for a novel! It's pretty much DS's birth story.
I never planned on getting one, but I never said I would refuse. I unknowingly started going into premature labor on a Saturday evening. I'd been uncomfortable all weekend and L&D said to rest with lots of water. When DH and I went to bed around 10PM that Sat. night, he was out and I couldn't sleep from super uncomfortable cramps. They would start in the back and just radiate to the front. I never thought to time them, but every time I would close my eyes it would happen again. I'd check my clock six maybe seven minutes had gone by and it happened again. All. Night. Long. Longest night trying to sleep, and by morning I got so frustrated from zero minutes of sleep and cramps, I called again. They told me to come in, when DH and I got there around 9AM or so on Sunday morning, they hooked me up and sure enough I was having real contractions and was dilated 2cm. They automatically hooked me up and gave me the mag, but it only made the contractions feel worse for me though it slowed them down. By around 8PM, I got to 5cm and we knew DS was coming no matter what since I was on the max amount of mag. My body was still going to town with the contractions, and they gave me the option of getting an epidural. They got me off the mag, and I went ahead and went with the epidural since at that point I knew I'd be too exhausted to push and was worried about DS getting distressed and me perhaps needing an emergency c-section. It didn't take too long for the anesthesiologist to get there. I think I got the epidural 2 hours before DS was born. They gave it to me, broke my water and I went from 7cm to ready to push within those two hours. I was able to get a little bit of rest before go time. I definitely needed it since even after DS was born, I had to wake up every two hours to start pumping colostrum and tried to get his milk to come in.
Man! This thread has been going on forever. I guess I'll go ahead and chime in. If I did already sorry for repeating myself. I scrolled through and don't think I saw my name anywhere.
Get ready for a novel! It's pretty much DS's birth story.
I never planned on getting one, but I never said I would refuse. I unknowingly started going into premature labor on a Saturday evening. I'd been uncomfortable all weekend and L&D said to rest with lots of water. When DH and I went to bed around 10PM that Sat. night, he was out and I couldn't sleep from super uncomfortable cramps. They would start in the back and just radiate to the front. I never thought to time them, but every time I would close my eyes it would happen again. I'd check my clock six maybe seven minutes had gone by and it happened again. All. Night. Long. Longest night trying to sleep, and by morning I got so frustrated from zero minutes of sleep and cramps, I called again. They told me to come in, when DH and I got there around 9AM or so on Sunday morning, they hooked me up and sure enough I was having real contractions and was dilated 2cm. They automatically hooked me up and gave me the mag, but it only made the contractions feel worse for me though it slowed them down. By around 8PM, I got to 5cm and we knew DS was coming no matter what since I was on the max amount of mag. My body was still going to town with the contractions, and they gave me the option of getting an epidural. They got me off the mag, and I went ahead and went with the epidural since at that point I knew I'd be too exhausted to push and was worried about DS getting distressed and me perhaps needing an emergency c-section. It didn't take too long for the anesthesiologist to get there. I think I got the epidural 2 hours before DS was born. They gave it to me, broke my water and I went from 7cm to ready to push within those two hours. I was able to get a little bit of rest before go time. I definitely needed it since even after DS was born, I had to wake up every two hours to start pumping colostrum and tried to get his milk to come in.
Thanks for sharing! My midwives suggested drinking a glass of vino and taking a benedryl to help sleep through the early pre-labor. May not be for everyone depending on your comfort level but I think I will totally do that if I'm having a tough time sleeping during the night before going into active labor so that I am rested for the real work of it!
My plan is to wait and see how long I can go without one. We talked about it with my OB and she said it was fine, that there really is only one point where it would be too late to get it (risk for baby) but that if I got to that point I may as well go through with it without the epi. I know I have a high pain tolerance and I hope to get through it without one, plus I'd just like to be able to move around while in pain. It helps me lol! Maybe all my super heavy RIDICULOUSLY painful period pains and the tricks I e learned to cope will finally come in handy. Definitely taking the classes later this month.
My mother had one and it messed up her back fr months I refuse to have one
How long ago was that?
20 years ago it's enough to scare me
They've changed them since 20 years ago...even now not all of them are the same @nik6499 can you shed some light? I feel like I know that they are not the same as 20 years ago (like I read something about it before), but I'm having a hard time finding something specifically on that.
It's certainly everyone's personal decision on whether to have one or not.
@sbodman82 I think an important thing to remember is as much that you are not your mother and some people have a harder time with them while others don't. My mother has narrow spacing and it's difficult to give her an epidural. It partially failed with her c section with my brother. When she had her csection with me they gave up and just put her under. I'm on the other side. I have good spacing and tolerance and have no issue with them at all and recover very quickly and easily.
I'm a FTM, so I can't speak from experience, but I do have a factor I'm considering that I don't think has been mentioned yet (sorry if it has and I missed it!) Honestly, I'm open to the idea of getting an epidural, but it's the catheter that I'm worried about. I've had trouble with serious UTIs in the past, bordering on kidney infections, and being catheterized for a long time could potentially cause me some painful issues... Like other moms have said, I'm going to do my best to hold out on the epi for as long as I can, even if it's just to avoid adding a UTI to my postpartum recovery fun!
Re: epidural or not?
I had my first at a birth center. No option for an epidural. I knew I would survive the pain and not having the option made it easier. If I had been in the hospital there's a chance I would have caved and gotten one. I'm glad the option wasn't there because it forced me to stick to my guns.
I did end up delivering my baby drug free and I was glad I did it. It was empowering and I felt like my body knew what it was doing.
Labor/delivery is different for everyone so keep and open mind and remember that you can't control how things go. You can't be sure your will go into labor on your own, or not need a c-section or whatever.
I would highly recommend reading the Bradley method book! It helped me feel so confident about going drug-free!
Haha yeah I think what happened with me was different than what docs expected: I was induced at 9 am and had made Zero progress by 3 pm. That's when they broke my water. Then it was immediate progress and extremely painful. I got the epidural and then took a nice little nap. It was glorious. When I was ready to go (around 730 pm) I couldn't feel a thing to the point that they had to turn epidural off so I could push harder. Still couldn't feel anything but he was born at 9 pm.
Jamie
But it gets to a point in labor where you just don't care anymore. I can't explain it, but I have never been more excited about getting a shot than I was about grtting that epidural! Haha
Baby Girl 12.9.15
MC 4.7.14 @ 21 W - Turners Syndrome
My advice would be to not base your decision based on this post. Instead read some books or articles, even some YouTube videos. I thought I would want one then realized I want to be able to feel my legs, I want to walk around before and after birth and I don't want a catheter.
I guess I'll go ahead and chime in. If I did already sorry for repeating myself. I scrolled through and don't think I saw my name anywhere.
Get ready for a novel! It's pretty much DS's birth story.
I never planned on getting one, but I never said I would refuse.
I unknowingly started going into premature labor on a Saturday evening. I'd been uncomfortable all weekend and L&D said to rest with lots of water.
When DH and I went to bed around 10PM that Sat. night, he was out and I couldn't sleep from super uncomfortable cramps. They would start in the back and just radiate to the front. I never thought to time them, but every time I would close my eyes it would happen again. I'd check my clock six maybe seven minutes had gone by and it happened again. All. Night. Long.
Longest night trying to sleep, and by morning I got so frustrated from zero minutes of sleep and cramps, I called again. They told me to come in, when DH and I got there around 9AM or so on Sunday morning, they hooked me up and sure enough I was having real contractions and was dilated 2cm. They automatically hooked me up and gave me the mag, but it only made the contractions feel worse for me though it slowed them down. By around 8PM, I got to 5cm and we knew DS was coming no matter what since I was on the max amount of mag. My body was still going to town with the contractions, and they gave me the option of getting an epidural.
They got me off the mag, and I went ahead and went with the epidural since at that point I knew I'd be too exhausted to push and was worried about DS getting distressed and me perhaps needing an emergency c-section. It didn't take too long for the anesthesiologist to get there.
I think I got the epidural 2 hours before DS was born. They gave it to me, broke my water and I went from 7cm to ready to push within those two hours. I was able to get a little bit of rest before go time. I definitely needed it since even after DS was born, I had to wake up every two hours to start pumping colostrum and tried to get his milk to come in.
Jamie
Thanks for sharing! My midwives suggested drinking a glass of vino and taking a benedryl to help sleep through the early pre-labor. May not be for everyone depending on your comfort level but I think I will totally do that if I'm having a tough time sleeping during the night before going into active labor so that I am rested for the real work of it!
20 years ago it's enough to scare me
It's certainly everyone's personal decision on whether to have one or not.
Jamie
Honestly, I'm open to the idea of getting an epidural, but it's the catheter that I'm worried about. I've had trouble with serious UTIs in the past, bordering on kidney infections, and being catheterized for a long time could potentially cause me some painful issues... Like other moms have said, I'm going to do my best to hold out on the epi for as long as I can, even if it's just to avoid adding a UTI to my postpartum recovery fun!