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?

Some women can't cope with the pain and end up with PTSD and secondary tokophobia.

No choice, was sent home apparently not in labour, birthed on sofa 3 hours later. I would've caved too though probably. Second time just about made it into hospital, one hour of pain so was ok and again no choice. Used hypnobirthing breathing using an app. I had no plans to get an epidural but might've caved given the choice.

I smugly planned to have no pain relief for my birth. Then I was induced. The. Pain. Was. Awful.

I asked for pethidine, that was hideous. Same amount of pain, but just felt 'alone' and on another planet. At that point, the epidural was the best decision I ever made.

Had two without any pain relief, it was doable, it hurt of course but not unbearable. Just lucky I guess. I loathed breast feeding both times and gave up a few weeks in. Would rather give birth than breast feed!

Went from 0 to baby in under 2 hours. No time for aspirin let alone an epidural. Screamed like a mofo throughout.

It genuinely didn't hurt that much. I just used a tens machine and did some yoga breathing. I kept phoning the hospital about coming in and they kept saying if you can make this phone call yourself you must be hours off. Eventually I decided to ignore the hospital and we went in anyway, just as well because I gave birth two minutes after arriving at the hospital.

The afterpains when breast feeding were total agony. But birth not so much so

I had two births without it. I do have a high pain tolerance, so maybe that's it. I certainly won't say it wasn't hellish, though.

Luck and physiology? Just like some animals need more help to give birth than others.

I've given birth three times without the need for anything more than gas and air and the third one I actually did the pushing bit with nothing. All three quick labours, two/three pushes and they were out and they were all home water births.

I don't think I am any sort of hero, I'm just very lucky to have had three amazing birth experiences.

People just differ. Obviously for as long as our species has been here most of the time women didn't have them so clearly women have coped although even the Bible goes on about the pain of childbirth. Queen Victoria was one of the first to use pain relief of a modern kind for some of her 9 babies "Queen Victoria enthused in her journal about the use of chloroform. She persuaded many women that anaesthetic gas was safe for use in childbirth. Chloroform was administered to Victoria by royal physician John Snow (1813-58) at the births of Prince Leopold in 1853 and Princess Beatrice in 1857."

I had 4 without an epidural and my last one with. For me that was simply because I found gas and air enough for the first 4 and with the last I had a separate 7 hour labour for him (he was twin 2) so I had already been through a gas and air birth for hours for his twin - no one ever told me you might have 2 completely separate labours in one day for vaginally born twins!

I was already 8 cms dilated when I got to the hospital so there was no time for one.

Pretty short Labour (4 and a half hours) and it never reached a point where the pain felt unbearable to me. I did have some Gas n Air so didn't go full on no pain relief and I was very glad of the pain killer suppository thing they gave afterwards which numbed my nether regions.

I was really frightened of not being able to move. I give birth in a pool in a midwife centre which worked for me as water had always been a good pain relief for me.

I’ve had 9, had nothing with my first and water births with gas and air with the rest.

with the first I was open minded, i almost asked for an epidural but i was only in labour for an hour and a half so there wasn’t time! After that i knew I could do it without so I just did!

all my labours were between 90 minutes and three hours long and I honestly thought I was going to die for the last couple of contractions, I dont know how people are in labour for a long time manage, I’d definitely have got more pain relief if that was the case for me.

I only got pain relief in the very last 10 minutes - was begging for an epidural from 5cm onwards and was told there was nobody available to administer it. Only reason I got pain relief at the end was because there were some late complications and they had to prep me and give me a spinal because they thought I might need an emergency Caesarian. Honestly, have no idea how people do this without an epidural....

My first was a 15 hour labour at a private hospital that encouraged natural birth. Yes, it was painful but I much preferred that to being drugged up and losing my independence. It sounds silly but I was very much encouraged by the fact that I had chosen not to know DS1's sex in advance. All the pain was countered by a feeling of such excitement to be meeting the baby that it sort of buoyed me up think I was as excited as a young child at Christmas. I had a marvellous obstetrician who encouraged and coached me all the way.
DS2 was born at home and it was a very relaxed water birth, it was more of a discomfort than pain the second time around.
I honestly find the idea of being catheterised and fairly immobile far more frightening than just straight forward pain.

Yeah, I was induced for both my kids as well. The contractions from the oxytocin drip are pure murder!
I didn't have a chance to get the epidural because I dilated too quickly. Glad to hear you got the chance.

This. From first contraction to placenta was 90m.

There was zero break time in-between contractions. Not one single thing we brought to use during labour made it out of the bag.

I don't what it is that means I don't react well to epidurals but after the friggin ordeal I had with the epidural I had during my first dd's birth I made sure I wasn't having it for dd2's birth! I had pethidine and gas and air, and it was so much better and quicker!

Only in women's medicine where we are expected to "push through the pain" or "it's been natural since the dawn of time" is anyone expected to be in that level of pain!
Please don't beat yourself up I know easier said then done but a C Section is giving birth just by a assisted method.

"Natural" birth isn't all its cracked up to be and many women end up with problems down the line. Only because I knew to go to a women's physio after birth was I able to correct a load of mine!

Because i knew what the pain was and that it was part of a process that would end in my baby arriving. I didn't find the pain unbearable, just like very intense period cramp pain. I also had decided I did not want an epidural as I wanted to know when i needed to push as opposed be directed by the nurse, plus a needle very close to my spinal cord was never apealing. Gas and air was sufficient.
The pain with the 2nd birth was nothing in comparison to the first birth when everything was doing what nature intended, for the first time.

I enjoyed the sensations both times. It hurt, but it was quite nice hurt and the gas and air was delightful. Felt like my body was working really hard and I was sort of really digging in.
An a complete wuss normally so I think it’s just a labour thing for me.

I do have a theory that those who go “outside” themselves in distress - those who will see the GP if they think something is wrong, who seek help and support and touch from others - will be more likely to have an epidural, and those who go “inside” themselves - like curl up in a ball and hide when they have period pain - are more likely to not want an epidural.

No choice - the MW lied to me - they kept telling me it was on the way. They hadn’t even ordered one according to my notes in “the reflections” chat. Awful, awful women - they are a disgrace to their profession.

Same, i didn't understand my birth at all. I had gas and air and it had no effect, I am certain it wasn't even switched on!

And those that say that you're only in pain during a contraction, it was constant constant pain every second.

Had an epidural thankfully. But still suffering over a decade later with loss of nerve sensation in my foot.

Hypnobirthing

3 kids. Only had an epidural for the first. Was determined not to have one second and third time around. I booked an independent midwife. Had her for second birth (at home) and third (in hospital). For me it's all about having care from someone who you know and trust. And I was personally very motivated as well, for reasons I struggle to articulate. It was f*cking agony. Second baby was 11lbs. Third was 9.5lbs and labour took 3 days. I was so euphoric after both those births. For days.