How on earth do women give birth without epidurals?

[Begaydocrime94]

genuine question, for those of you who have given birth without epidurals, how?? Just gave birth for the second time and was hoping for no epidural this time but caved pretty much immediately. How do women cope without? Do some women just cope better with pain etc?

Didn’t occur to me to ask, really.

I was more scared of the potential side effects of an epidural than the pain, I apparently have a high pain threshold, I used gas and air and birth pool, it was an amazing experience both times

I think it is probably just easier for some people than others in general because of their body and also depending on the situation with the baby (large/small/back to back etc). I didn't need one either time and was fine. Second time I had no pain relief at all, it was painful but quick so pain relief wouldn't have had time to kick in anyway. And it wasn't THAT painful. Definitely worse the first time for me though.

Tens machine and controlled breathing got me most of the way through but I think it depends on where the contractions are. Mine were in my back to tens machine helped a lot. I'm not sure it would be much use on the front! I switched to gas and air and wish I hadn't as it made me away with the fairies and I couldn't feel that I needed to push. The idea of an epidural scared the life out of me so it wasn't ab option unless I was forced to have one!

I think it depends on so many factors, we all have different pain thresholds and we all have different labours.
I was very lucky, I had easy labours with no tearing, waters broke both times naturally and then babies came, my first labour was 5 hours and my second was 3 hours. Both were very painful but manageable and I never felt I needed any pain relief.

In excruciating agony is all I can say - that was my experience. I was being physically sick throughout from the pain. I do have a high pain threshold, but my labour had endured for many hours and I was at the end of my tether.

I begged my midwife for a epidural but they were really short staffed that night and did not have the resources to be able to administer one until it was too late. In the end I had to have a forceps delivery.

Wasn’t offered anything with first just left alone for hours and hours. It was horrific. Second and third were home births and very quick. They were lovely actually. Just an hour of intense pain max and lovely midwives to help me cope with it. I think hospital births are so traumatic and that makes your ability to handle pain be diminished.

I managed really well with just pethidine with DS1. Honestly he was a dream birth. My waters broke at about 10am and I had him by 7pm, he practically pushed himself out. My midwives were brilliant. She was older and very experienced, she encouraged me to sleep through contractions and hugged me/rubbed my back through the pain when I needed her. She admitted she was very old school in her approach but she had had children herself and most of the other midwives didn’t and so did things by the book.

It was almost unbearable with DS2. I was induced. I couldn’t take the offered cocodemal as I’m allergic to codeine. I wanted pain relief, asked for gas and air and pethidine but they couldn’t offer that on the ward. My labour intensified during the evening hand over and I was almost giving birth before someone decided it was time to take me down to the birthing suite. By this point I was howling in pain and was being called names by the adjacent women who said I was being too loud and doing her head in. I almost cried when I was told I was too far gone for pethidine or epidural in the delivery room. I think even the paracetamol had wore off by then and I was in so much pain that I held my breath instead of inhaling the gas and air, so I was giving birth naturally. I had night terrors for months afterwards. My husband said I used to whimper and cry in my sleep. Our poor ancestors and those poor women who still labour without pain relief.

Women are awesome!

I had strong personal reasons to not want to have to be reliant on the availability of a Dr / epidural for my wellbeing during labour. I needed to know I'd be able to cope whatever. I did a lot of hypnotherapy in preparation and was really zoned out. It didn't mask the pain but I had no anxiety around the pain so it was bearable.

In ordinary life I'm pretty crap at enduring pain!

No epidural or anything at all here. I asked for one as soon as I got to the hospital in labour with DC1 but was told I was ready to push, get on with it.

DC2 was a home birth and arrived before the midwife.

Mine were both fast and straight forward, I did not plan to push out 2 x watermelons stone cold sober.

I couldn’t have one because the anesthetist was dealing with a woman who’d been brought in as an emergency by helicopter! By the time that was done they said it was too late for me to have an epidural but labour lasted about another 12 hours, including an episiotomy and stitches all without pain relief. I did the whole breathing thing for what felt like several lifetimes but screamed like I was in a horror movie when I realised they were going to do an episiotomy.

Next baby I had a panic attack going into the maternity ward because I was terrified. I hadn’t had a panic attack before so thought I was having some kind of a heart attack! I didn’t have an epidural that time either because DD2 was born less than an hour after getting to the hospital. It did hurt a lot but at least it didn’t take too long.

I wish there was the option to give birth like they do operations, you wake up and it’s all done. I never had any more DC, partly because I didn’t want to give birth again.

Mine didn't take and then it was too late.

I’m terrified of epidurals. I would have had to have been absolutely desperate to ask for one. And I never got anywhere near that point. Both my labours were fast. Contractions were intense but I was able to breathe through them with gas and air. If I had had long labours it may have been different. I’ll never know. I had a third degree tear with my second baby. Had to go to theatre for stitches and I had a spinal for that. It’s not an experience I’d be keen to repeat!

Everyone experiences birth differently. You just have to do what’s right for you in the moment.

honestly high pain threshold (or just stubborn?!) , I was more scared of the epidural than not having one, fast labours so very little time to have one anyway.

I probably would have demanded one if I had been in labour for more than 6 hours since the pain gets so tiring but since both mine were less than that I just used the tens machine for number 1 and used some gas and air for the second.

I’m pregnant currently and am petrified of needles. I feel like an epidural would be completely off limits for me. Was there any point you almost caved? I’m almost 100% certain I won’t have one (had one for C-section and it’s the reason I’m having a VBac 😂)

Just wondered if labour almost made you change your mind or if you were resolute? I was also thinking Perhidine might be an option but your not the first person to say it was awful.

Didn't have anything with either of mine, not even gas and air or a paracetamol.

First labour was mega quick. It bloody hurt but was past the point for anything and found putting my face in the pool most effective at cutting out other senses.

Second labour longer as waters didn't break. I got to 9cm without much issue (probably same as first labour but I didn't know it at the time). Then I basically got one giant contraction. No time in between and although painful, because it somehow affected my entire body and I thought I might puke again it didn't really want anything (other than baby out obviously!) Because that bit was so horrible, getting to the push stage was better and a relief.

I think getting through a really intense but relatively short pain is easier than having to go for hours and hours. I don't know I'd have coped with that.

The worst bit for me was being sewn up afterwards. Nearly hit the ceiling despite midwife telling me it was numb. It most definitely wasn't. So I wasn't mega tough there.

i choose not to… why is it hard to believe?
it’s painful yes, but that’s my choice.

I begged for it but didn’t get it & then it was too late.

Honestly, we are all built differently. I had my first with an epidural and hated it. I have a very high pain threshold - this doesn’t mean I’m brave and grit my teeth in pain, it means I don’t feel it. My labours were slowish which means the pain to ok time to build up.

its 2024 and if epidural worked for you, that’s brilliant, what’s important is that mum and baby emerge safely. There’s no extra prize for doing it without pain relief.

but do NOT be coming at me with stitches, now that’s a whole other story 🤣

I didn’t get gas & air either until baby was crowning & had back to back labour. Ridiculously painful!

I think some women do cope better with pain and some are happier with the pain of labour rather than having a needle stuck in their spine. Better the devil they know, kind of thing.

I’d only consider having an epidural if I needed a C Section. I’ve had three deliveries without epidurals, including one back-to-back and one very prolonged induced labour, which was the worst pain-wise. I did ask for pethidine/morphine or whatever it was for the last couple of hours of that labour as I’d had hours and hours of unnatural pain (from the induction drip on max). The normal pain of labour is bearable albeit painful. What’s the killer is a very long labour, as that’s exhausting, it’s not the pain so much, IMO.

Why not an epidural? Because I don’t want a needle in my spine unless absolutely necessary; I don’t want to risk a spinal leak, evil headache and days flat on my back (friend had that); I want to actively give birth; I want to feel baby emerging and be able to judge my pushes properly; I want to reduce the risk of a C section (epidurals increase the risk of intervention); I want to move around, wee and feel like me the minute the baby has been born - lots of reasons.

Same here. I arrived at the hospital and had ds 30 minutes later!

Had an epidural with my second. Must have been too late as it didn't work. Anaesthetist tried to tell me it doesn't take away the pain, just the pressure feels different(!) Yeah, it didn't work. Never mind, I'm still here I guess!

This for my first, although it wasn’t easy or enjoyable 😂 by the time I got to hospital it was too late for one

With my second I was only 2 cm dilated despite 10 hours of contractions 😭 so was too early for pain relief of any kind, when I was checked again 2 hrs later I was fully dilated so too late for any

Ist one I had gas and air....not sure it did a lot
2nd one I had a home and used a tens machine, had it turned up quite high 😁

I found the after pains when bf painful tho!