Dear mamas. I have been preparing my whole pregnancy to give birth naturally. Practicing breathing and meditation and trying to avoid intervention at all costs.

Now I’m 41+1 with not really any signs of labour and my doc and I have discussed options for induction for next Monday 41+5.

Basically my question is...

Are there any mamas out there who have been induced (either by pitocin or cervadil as these are the two options I’m considering) and have gone without epidural? I really want to be able to move around during labour and feel my baby come through the birth canal with my pushing. I also wanted to avoid being hooked up to an IV. I know contractions are generally more intense when induced because the body is not necessarily ready to handle the pain. And this can often lead women to get an epidural for the pain.

My mom says my problem is I know too much. As a health care provider I have spent so much time reading and researching and it has now triggered anxiety as a potential change in my original plan approaches.

Hopefully there are some moms out there who can convince me that I can go epidural free even if induced.

Thank you so much for reading.