Epidural?

Question

As a first time mom I’m curious as to why some women choose not to have an epidural. If you didn’t have one, or don’t want one, comment your reasoning. I’m really curious. If this isn’t allowed let me know I’ll delete it.

Answer

I did not want one and did not have one! I didnt want one for several reasons: I was told that recovery is typically easier if you dont have one, I wanted to feel everything that was happening with my body, I wanted to be able to push in any position I felt comfortable and not just on my back, I didnt want to labor in bed, I wanted to be up and walking asap, I didnt want a needle in my back, I know a lot of women who have back pain as a result of it, and I just really really didnt want a catheter 😂  despite all of this, I would have totally caved and probably got one if I could have (I showed up to the hospital at 9 cm after laboring at home  as long as possible) but I am SO GLAD I didnt have one! I loved being up and walking within an hour after birth! The pain was GONE immediately after he was born. They used lidocaine so I didnt feel the stitches. I also had a dose of IV pain medication right when I got to the hospital that lasted about an hour and gave me the rest I needed to prepare to push. I pushed for close to 7 hours unmedicated. It was pure, 100% PAIN but so rewarding and worth it. I often tell the women I know who have had epidurals that they're stronger than I am because I was too scared to get one! You've just gotta do what's right for you and what YOU feel is best 💕

Answer

I did end up having one, but originally I wanted to at least attempt without. My reasons for wanting to go without was that I’d be able to be up and walking around immediately following birth, many women swear it makes the physical recovery from birth easier, there are also risks just like with anything. They’re fairly rare but complications can and do happen from epidurals. It can also cause your labour to slow down or fail to progress which increases risk of c-section. Having said all that though, I did end up getting the epidural and for me it was amazing. I had no complications, my labour didn’t slow down and it made me feel way better. Only downfall was not being able to be up and moving right away after birth but my husband and nurses helped me anyway.

Answer

I had an epidural with my first and didn’t with my induction of my second baby. I preferred to not have an epidural this time because i liked being able to labor with free movement. I also liked that i didn’t need to wait for it to wear off after baby was born. I had a much better recovery and didn’t tear this time because i could feel and listen to my body. I also made it fi 8cm before getting the epidural with my first so it was also like i wanted to see how far i could push myself. But i have a high pain tolerance so i could easily dare myself into going without lol.

Answer

For me and epidural is a last resort. I personally would much rather try as natural as possible. This is my second and I didn't have one with my first.
The thought of a needle in my spine scares me more than labour itself and I hate the feeling of being numb.
But I know pain thresholds differ and it's everyone's personal choice :)

Answer

I didnt want one, until I was about 6cm, however I went from a 6 to 9 in 15 minutes and was unable to have one, looking at it now,  I'm happy I didn't have one and I hope this labor goes just as quickly. My labor was so quick the doctor didnt even make it in time to deliver my placenta.

Answer

I was more scared of the needle than of labor 🤣. I also wanted to experince it and didnt want to be scared of labor and the pain with the rest of my births.

Answer

So I was open to different options when I was in labor. I have a pretty high threshold for pain so I thought I would go as long as I could and if it got to be too much then I’d ask for intervention. Most of the reasons that the other women stated for not wanting one were the same for me. I wasn’t even one centimeter dilated when I was admitted after my water broke at 4am. By 9am I was in so much pain because my contractions were dilating me so fast that I was puking and my blood pressure was through the roof. I finally begged for an epidural and almost didn’t get to have it because I was almost fully dilated. But I did not have to have a catheter, I got up out of the delivery bed after my son was born at 11:30am and walked to the bathroom. I had little to no pain when the epidural fully wore off. I was able to move my legs during delivery but did not have any pain. I was also allowed to deliver in positions other than supine if I wanted. Before I got the epidural I had to stay in bed on my left side because my son’s heart rate was decelerating with each contraction and my blood pressure was too high. 
So moral of the story, nothing will go the way you think it will. I believe it’s best to stay open to different options that you’re comfortable with and be very clear with the things you’re firmly opposed to or you adamantly want.

Answer

I didn’t want one because I wanted to be walking around during labour. The epi would have restricted me to the bed. 
I also saw the epi in my birthing classes and it scared the crap out of me. 😂

Answer

I got one and loved it. I actually ended up getting two as the first one wore off before my daughter was born. I’m due again in 2.5 weeks and absolutely getting another.

Answer

For me it’s just a wanting to be strong and show myself that I can do it. Sounds silly, I’m not an uber naturalist I don’t worry about medications or other things. I just want to give it a try. I also know epidurals can slow the process down a bunch and some women push for hours! Which I don’t want.  And i like to move around a bunch. This is baby #2 for me and with the first they couldn’t place the epidural, (tried twice) don’t know why I guess my back/body just isn’t right for epidurals.  So I opted for iv meds which was horrendous for me I was sooo loopy and hated every second of it. This time around I’m going for 100% natural. I want to walk around, move, try different things.

Epidural?

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