Epidural vs. Natural Birth?

Question

I am only 10 weeks pregnant but I wanted to know what were positive affects of having a natural child birth. I know it hurts but where can I find information on how to cope with it and natural birthing techniques.

Answer 1

at your local hospital attend a Lamaze child birthing class. Its great because it teaches you about labor, what to expect, all t he different birthing options/scenarios. It also discusses the benefits an risks.

Best advise I could give is to remain open minded. Have an ideal plan for what you would like to happen, what you would consider using/whats completely out, who should/want to be there. Keep it simple and straight forward, you doctor is more likely to comply with a few major requests than many little ones regarding everything.

It is hard to predict timing, how long, complications, etc so you will be happier with your experience if you remain open-minded. Natural is a great goal however, the most-important thing is that you and the baby are healthy and safe!

in the end no one has to know except you and whoever is in the room what went on in the room and there are no medals to those of us who go "natural".

Plus in case you have not run across these people, i have friends who boast that they went all natural mind you they used an IV drug (seditol, Demerol). Some people think that if they did not have an epidural then they went natural.(see my point look at the RENAE girl below) If you are going all natural you are in too much pain to sleep, if you can doze off then thats becasue YOU are not feeling all the pain!..um mm natural means NOTHING!!..

.SO REALLY FOR YOURSELF DO NOT PUT UNREALISTIC PRESSURE ON YOURSELF AND ENJOY THE EXPERIENCE, ITS TRUE LY A MIRACLE!

ALSO LISTEN TO PEOPLE WHO HAVE HAD THE EPIDURAL IF YOU WANT AN ACCURATE ASSESSMENT OF WHAT AN EPIDURAL DOES. IT IS RARE TO GET PARALIZED IF NOT NON-EXISTENT. MORE LIKEY AND THE CAHNCES ARE 1 OUT OF A 100 IS A HEADACHE (WHICH THEY TREAT W/MEDS). PLUS YOU STILL FEEL THE CONTRACTIONS AND THEY TYPICALLY STOP THE MEDS BEFOR EPUSHING..SO TRUST ME I FELT EVERY PUSH, TEAR, ETC!)

Answer 2

I went natural and never regretted it. Some benefits of natural birth are:

- Shorter recovery time! I was up and about the very next morning!! I even went to the mall that day.. others are bed bound for weeks.
- Shorter labor! Many women have 30-40 hour labors because epidurals slow things down. I had a 7 and a 4 hour labor with my kids, drug free.
- It's better for the baby! There are risks associated with epidurals to both you and the baby. Research before you buy into it!

Here are some great natural birth experiences you can read through, there are many different techniques: http://pregnancy.about.com/cs/birthstories/l/blmidwifestory.htm

All the best with your pregnancy!

Answer 3

I would have to say natural birth is the best. yes it is painful, but as soon as you have your baby in your arms, you forget about the pain! I only have one child and i gave birth to her naturally, i didn't have a epidural, but i was given some pain meds, but all the med did was make me relax and doze off in between my contractions and i still felt every contraction and labor pain and i tell you what i would do it again all natural! I have heard the epidural does work, but it has side effects, many women who have had the epidural during labor have back problems for the rest of their lives and if the epidural didn't go in right it can do serious damage to your back nerves possibly end up being paralized! also in my own opinion since the epidural numbs the pain of labor and you can't feel a thing, sometimes it can be hard to tell when you have to push and it makes it harder and much longer for the mother to push baby out, cuz you can't feel anything! so i would never ask for the epi and if the dr's was to offer the option for an epidural i would say NO!!!

Answer 4

Natural is better because you do not have to worry about the epidural wearing off after you have the baby. You full control of your body having natural childbirth. I had 2 kids with the epidural which gave me back pains afterwards, my last child I had nothing and it was wonderful. The labor and delivery was so short and fast. I am 33 weeks and plan on going natural again so I can get up and about after the baby is born rather waiting to regain feeling in my legs.

Remember the start of time there was no pain meds, it is not so bad once you see your blessing in your arms.

Answer 5

I just wanted to give you some support...and a tiny piece of advice...

Plan the birth that you really want, don't let people tell you what is best...yo know what is best for you. Remember to keep an open mind, things don't always go as you plan or hope. You may change your mind when you're in labor...and that's OK. Make sure that you can accept that things may not work out as you plan. I didn't want the epidural until I was in labor...I ended up getting one and I'm glad because I was able to enjoy my sons birth so much more.

Good luck!!

Answer 6

I think woman need to do what is best for them and their baby. I have csections, but if I had the choice between natural or epidural I would probably go with the epidural. I've seen tons of people do either But the mothers are more aware of what is going on with an epidural, they can enjoy the birth of their child better. They aren't exhausted. Talk to different woman about it.

Answer 7

DON'T PAY ANY ATTENTION TO GUYS THAT ANSWER, THEY DON'T GET A SAY SO!

so now, for my opinion, it all depends. If i really want one, i should have it. My theory was this. I planned for one. The epidural guy was on hand, but i didn't want him to do anything unless i absolutely had to have it. The sight of that needle sure made me think twice anyway.

It all depends on your threshold for pain. For those that go into labor for hours and hours, get the epidural. I was lucky, my first was 4 hours, my second was for 5 hours. So i really didnt have much time to think. and the whole pushing part isn't the part that hurts anyway. It's the dialating part that REALLY hurts. I went natural. both times. but this third one, i'm still scheduling the epidural guy anyway!

Answer 8

Go natural. I had 2 kids that way, and it is so helpful to be able to move around when you need to, change positions if you get uncomfortable. You can't do that once you get an epidural. And then when the baby comes, you can comfortably hold it and move around if you need to. Plus sometimes epidurals can cause migranes, so if you are prone to them, you might not want to take the chance.

Answer 9

you would need to call a Doula or mid wife in your town and tell could tell you more about it... i had 2 epiturals and have seen many women get them and many women that have natural birth... i though that i was going to go natural but I called for a epidural about 8 hours before my daughter was born...the bad thing about epidural is that you can experience back pains weeks... months..or even years later..my daughter is 17 months and i still have bad twinges in my back when its touched heres a website that shows the procedure of a epidural

Answer 10

Go with your gut instinct. I wanted to get an epidural with my daughter (I see no reason to be in pain unnecessarily), but wasn't able to reap the benefits of it. Went into labor, got the initial injection for the epidural, and that is when the nurse noticed my daughter's head was half out. Needless to say, the epidural didn't take effect until after she had been born, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Of course, I had the benefit of complete and utter shock to take the edge off the pain. :)