Epidural or No Epidural?

Question

So backstory I live in America. Where they kinda push you to have an epidural. I've seen a video of this girl who said she did want one and her nurse kept trying to push it. My family has laughed at me for saying I don't want one. And my mother says I'm gonna get one because she got one. I personally have realized I deal with pain not well but good enough and quiet enough. I don't want anyone pushing an epidural or anything on me when I think I can do it alone. I don't want to be a pain, but why should I have to get an epidural if I don't want one. And why does everyone feel the need to either tell me I'm gonna get it/should get it or laugh at me?

Answer

If you don’t want one, don’t get one. For myself, I’ll go natural to start with  for sure and hopefully all the way, but if things last for hours and that at some point I’m just too exhausted and in too much pain, then I’ll take it. The truth is, I won’t get a medal for suffering for 30 hours plus. I know people who had great deliveries and Ive known quite the opposite too. It is my first baby so I’m not sure at all what to expect and I have no idea how painful this will be. Nonetheless, if your wish is to go all the way natural, it is your call and nobody else’s.

Answer

Im also pregnant and due in 6 days. I also dont want Epidural but to be honest we wont know until its our turn. Try your best to go as long as you can without it, thats what im doing and if you need it, you need it! Dont be hard on yourself or feel ashamed at the med of the day you are strong and you showed yourself how strong you are and no matter what the hard job is done which was the 9 months of making thay healthy baby🤗💕 Goodluck hun

Answer

I will never have an epidural

Answer

I'm gonna try to give birth without one as well.  America is the only country where epidurals are common practice.  Plus there are health risks that come with the epidural as well.
If you end up wanting one though there's no shame in that either.  Childbirth is painful.  Just do you and don't let anyone else decide for you

Answer

I didn’t want the epidural either. After being in labor that was super painful for over 10 hours with minimum progress I caved and asked for one. I’m thankful I did because labor was almost 36 hours for me. But it’s everyone’s choice. You don’t actually have to decide. And it’s your right to change your mind once you are delivering.

Answer

My mom did it without one for both of us kids (had my brother last year!) but I am sooo getting an epidural because I already know I will not be able to handle the pain which will cause me to tense up and make delivery horrible for me and my baby. I rather be relaxed and push with confidence. Also don’t wanna feel those stitches if I need them. But I saw my mom deliver without one and she did an awesome job. Recovered very quickly at 40.

Answer

I’m in California and my hospital will not even mention it if you don’t want it. I would research different options and see what your hospital offers (ie nitrous gas, sterile water papule, TENS) There’s so many ways to manage pain now. This is your birth experience and you get to decide. If you want an epidural then go for it; if you want something different then do that!

Answer

I’ve seen this convo play out in so many threads... 
OP asks “epidural or no” and then everyone starts telling their pro epidural story, “why take pain if you don’t have to” and then there is a list of horror stories from those the epidural went wrong for. This basically leaves the OP afraid of pain AND afraid of the epidural. 
No one mentions that the epidural is part of a larger hospital system/ process and that to opt out of epidural you have to be prepared with an alternative pain management plan that the hospital is NOT designed to support but ultimately will (if you insist). 
I’ve interviewed dozens of women on this and yes, if you follow all hospital recommendations and then only forgo the epidural it will likely be close to impossible. 
So the trade off really is: 
1. No epidural / natural pain plan (e.g., movement/ meditation) / limit hospital interventions - significantly less pain - adds no risks
2. No epidural / following all other hospital policies (interventions and limits to movement) - excruciating pain - adds no risk
3. Epidural - usually no pain - extremely low risk of side effects (ranging from discomfort to excruciating) 
Option 2 is what causes this unproductive epidural debate. It’s not feasible and women inadvertently set out with that as their plan. 
Most of the women I spoke with who achieved “no epidural” also said:
- No inducing/ water breaking or Pitocin 
- Few cervical checks 
- No immobilization from EFM 
- Lots of movement 
Most who did this mentioned that the “pain” of birth was tolerable and not worse than other experiences (sports injuries, medical issues) they’d had in life. 
Successful natural birth requires you move around to respond to your bodies needs and limit pain. You literally need to position yourself to alleviate pain naturally (hands and knees, walking, squatting, buoyancy from bath water). 
The hospital wants to position you to monitor you (putting you on your side or back as still as possible) creating excruciating positions and then handle your pain as a separate issue (with epidural).

Answer

If you don’t want one, don’t get one. I decided on not getting any pain meds for my first baby, and then halfway through I ended up needing it. I had a really hard time accepting the change to my plan,
So my advice to you would be to say that you’re going to try without and only take it if you need it. Every woman is different. 
This time around, I’ve joked that I want to call ahead to the hospital and have the anesthesiologist meet us when we get there - frankly, I’m only having another one because I know I can get an epidural. I don’t want to scare you at all, I just realized that it’s wayy too much pain for me to handle personally.

Answer

I had an epidural and it did nothing for my pain, was told by my doctor my labor was in my back. still have no clue what that meant but was in labor for 22 hours before going into have a c-section. for me the epidural was extremely painful, and still have back pains.

Epidural or No Epidural?

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