epidural epidural epidural?

Question

ok, so I am hoping for a natural childbirth, within a hospital and I have discussed this with my doctor. are there any birth stories of natural births? I am open to pain meds if I find I can't take the pain but I do not want an epidural and I really want to try for a natural birth. any advice would be appreciated.

I will be 37 weeks on Christmas. I have taken the birthing classes and I am considering a doula.

Answer 1

Hi there! You sound an awful lot like I did when I was pregnant with my first! I'll gladly tell you my stories.

With my first I was planning on going natural and didn't want any drugs but if I ended up with any it certainly wouldn't be an epidural!! My water broke at 6:00am on a friday morning and so I headed to the hospital. I wasn't hooked up to an i.v. or anything and they routinely monitored the baby every hour. I walked and sat on a birthing ball and visited with people that came to see me throughout the day. They decided at about 5pm that I hadn't progressed very much so they induced me with cytatec (sp?), a drug that was in the experimental phase for inducing labor when they used it for my labor and is not used very often at all for that purpose. I started having hard contractions at about 1am after the second dose of cytatec. I had been up for quite some time by then and was very tired but the contractions were keeping me awake. I mentioned my concerns to the nurse and she suggested a shot of demerol (or whatever they use instead of that because I don't think the actually use demerol anymore). I got the demerol and slept in between contractions even when I started pushing! I delivered my daughter, after 2 hours of pushing, at 7:27am on saturday morning. It was a long labor but worth it.

With my second daughter I began having regular contractions at home while my husband was at work. He came home from work and we took our oldest to my parents and headed to the hospital. I was in uneventful labor with her for 8 hours, from the time I got to the hospital to the time I delivered. I also pushed for two hours with her. I didn't have any drugs and she weighed in at a whopping 10 pounds 4 oz.! On top of all that, she was born exactly on her due date!

My third daughter's birth was very different. I woke up one morning at 38 weeks and started gushing blood (sorry about the tmi). My husband and I loaded up the kids and headed for the hospital. They checked me out on the ultrasound and suspected that I was having a placental abruption because they couldn't find anything on the ultrasound that was unusual. They induced me and allowed me to do a trial of labor for about 6 or 7 hours before the doctor was no longer comfortable with the amount of blood I was losing and ordered an emergency c-section. I delivered her 8 hours after I entered the hospital via c-section. They confirmed that it was a placental abruption but the baby and I were doing just fine afterwards.

Because of the previous c-section and a medical condition that they discovered following a miscarriage I had after having my third daughter, I will be delivering this baby by scheduled c-section, as much as I would love to do a vbac.

I highly recommend natural birth to anyone who will listen but make sure to listen to your body and use the resources that are available to you. I commend you for not wanting an epidural and for considering a doula. My mom was with me for my first two and she was just as good as having a doula because she used to be a midwife's assistant. It is proven that women who deliver with a doula's assistance are a lot less likely to use pain meds.
Good luck on your birth experience!

Answer 2

I've had two births without epidural. I found with the first that I desperately needed some pain relief and opted for a dose of Pethedine to calm me down more than anything. Its not the best pain reliever but does take the edge off so you can gather strength. It also helped me dilate the last 2cm very quickly and I was able to give birth naturally to a 9pd girl. (after a hell of a lot of pushing!)
When it came to my second I was still very much opposed to the idea of epidural for various reasons, and gladly didn't feel the need for one. I again had the pethedine to take the edge off an hour before delivery and to let me gather some strength back for the pushing stage.

I also found that using heat packs and the hot shower first, then pethedine toward the end when I was just totally stuffed, helped me avoid an epidural. They freak me out!!
However I always had it in the back of my mind as a last resort if all else failed.

Everybody is different but I was also blessed to have only 8 & 9 hour labours but had it gone for 20 hours I may very well have had the epidural.
Consider all your options carefully, when the time comes start with the pain relief options that are the most natural like heat packs then hot shower or bath, and see how you go. Don't limit yourself and keep an open mind. Nobody really knows how they are going to handle it until the time comes.

I'm hoping to once again avoid an epi with this baby but if as I said, its a 20 hour labour, I might very well be ringing the doctors neck for one!!

Good luck and fingers crossed for a quick, safe and easy delivery for you.

Merry Christmas

Oh, and BTW, I consider anyone who has delivered vaginally to have had a 'natural birth'. It doesn't matter about the pain meds, if you pushed it out you did it naturally. If its a c-section its not really done naturally but sometimes thats just the way it goes for some. Doesn't make them any less a person no matter how the baby came out. So don't worry so much about having a 'natural' birth. Things will happen the way the do.

Answer 3

i did a completely natural birth. No gas, no pethadine, no epidural. When i was in labour i asked for the epidural and the nurses told me no as i was going well. i was angry then but the baby came about 30 min later so it wasnt too bad. Im so glad now that i did it drug free and will do the same when i have more children. I think it just feels like more of an accomplishment. Just think its only 1 day of your life. people that have had epidurals say they feel the pain years later do you really want that.

Answer 4

I am also planning a natural childbirth and have been running into people all assuming that I will get an epidural. I just found out it may not be possible for me to have a natural birth (the baby is breech), but I am going to try.
It is very possible and well worth it to have a baby without pain meds. The baby will be more alert and active immediately after the birth (it will not have drugs in its system) and is more likely to successfully latch on and breastfeed (which can stop bleeding and help your uterus return to it's regular size).
Good luck to you and congrats!

Answer 5

first of all, i would like to tell you that i had both of my children natural birth and that is the most special thing a mother can go through. i have known people who take the epidural shot and their backs do not stay the same. i mean they hurt in the winter and really cannot lift after a while. i did not take the shot only because i heard of this stories. i did get a muscle relaxer through the I.V. and that helped. i would suggest that you go natural the whole way. that is what giving birth is about. unless you have complications, i suggest you do it on your own for the experience is painful but joyous. enjoy your new baby and the pain you will encounter. in the end, it will be all worth it.....

Answer 6

I had 3 normal / natural births, my 1st i had gas and air and pethidine (felt drunk) my second i had an epidural (fantastic things epidurals) but i couldn't get showered after the birth, my midwife had to bed bath me (that was the only down fall) with my 3rd it was a fast labour (3hrs) i had nothing till i needed to push then just had gas and air.

The best piece of advice i can give is......
Listen to your body, it will tell you what to do and follow the breathing you learn in the birthing classes. Douala's are great but all they do is support you in your birth plans and support you through the birth (that's what my friend told me as she had a doula).

Good luck with the birth and merry Christmas

Congrats in advance

Answer 7

I had a natural labour with my first child, I was determined not to have an epidural and I stuck to my word and am so glad that I did.

My baby was 8.5 pounds and 52cm in length. It took me 2.5 hours just to push her head out and yes it was painful but I am so glad that I did it this way that I am doing it again as I am now 36 weeks.

If the pain was really that bad do you think I would do it again? I just remember feeling so liberated after the whole experience. I torn and had to have stitches but I was on such a high that I insisted on walking out of the hospital when they wanted to push me out in a wheel chair.

You can do a natural birth, my advice is just don't give up and breathe really deeply and focus inside yourself on getting through it and you will. In the end you have this beautiful bundle of joy that is going to keep you up all night but totally worth it!

All the best to you.

Answer 8

Hi!!!
I feel exactly like you! I want a birth as natural as possible, possibly with gas and air and TENS. I think we'll be so proud of ourselves if we can do it!The reasons I don't want an epidural is because I think it makes labour longer, we are more likely to need forceps or ventouse or Csection delivery and I want to feel what's going on. I really hope to be strong enough. My partner knows my wishes but we need to keep an open mind and not beat ourselves up if we end up needing an epidural after all!

Good luck and congrats

Answer 9

Your childbirth experience should be everything you want it to be. Of course you're going to do whatever is best for your baby in the case of an emergency situation...but if everything goes perfect--do what you wish! Women gave birth without epidurals for thousands of years and many women still choose to go without it. It's entirely your decision...and you can always change your mind later if you can't take it! Good luck and congratulations!

Answer 10

Please dont think that epidurals arent included in "natural" births - all they do is take the pain away to help you to calm down and get your energy back up, they are not a bad thing. Who knows? - maybe you will be screaming for one when the pain gets bad?!
Its not an easy way out, its a BIG help (and relief!) if you choose to have one.