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?

I think it depends on the length of your labour. All 3 of mine were under 90 mins and the only part where I couldn't cope with the pain lasted minutes (the bit where the head comes out) and I didn't have any choice.
I have no idea if my short labours were a result of luck or genes or preparation, or a combo.
If it was prep, then this is what I did:
healthy eating (controlled my sugar due to risk of gestational diabetes)
walking or swimming every day from day one to day of birth
started off a normal weight and then maintained a normal weight throughout the pregnancy
never sat with my knees higher than my hips
towards the end I sat on a birthing ball all the time
loads of pregnancy yoga and breathing
when I had the first few very early signs of labour I went straight for the non-stop oxytocin overdose. For me it was videos of stand-up comedy. for others its dancing, etc.
at no point did I lie on my back during the day in early labour, or when I arrived at the hospital, or indeed lie down at all for any part of labour. it totally goes against the laws of gravity IMHO.
I had one baby who was breach and overdue. I had accupuncture and reflexology and he turned around and popped out no problem (I had had terrible terrible flu midway through the pregnancy so I guess he just wasn't ready)
my other two babies came on their due dates, scarily almost down to the minute.

First baby I went into labour naturally, but then failed to progress so they used the drip to speed things up and I was persuaded to have an epidural. It only partially worked, is from my thighs down. Which meant I had all the negatives of being stuck on my back in a really painful position for my spd, unable to go for a wee, annoying things strapped to me and fetal scalp monitor as well as all of the pain. So it took away my ability to cope with the pain through walking/changing position. I ended up with a c section.

With my last I had a vbac with gas and air and was determined not to have an epidural and be stuck again. It was was infinitely better thankfully.

I had my first two just with pethidine. It made me sick, so I opted for no pain relief with my third.

Very slow first labour so I really had to have the epidural after 24hrs.
Second was really fast, I asked for an epidural as I expected it to take as long as the first, but she flew out. I had gas and air and managed fine on that.
If ai were to have another I'd go for gas and air and if things were slow ask for an epidural.

gas and air, water. Don’t have a particularly high pain threshold - I refused to go home when they said it would be awhile cos it was so painful (turned out to be the right call anyway). Had a beautiful birth and would love to do it again someday.

OMG this. Keep moving. Don't panic. One contraction at a time and get anything that takes your focus, away and out of the room. In my instance a twat of a DH. Did not need him. Just me and the MW

I used gas and air the whole way through including during pushing. They tried to take it away on the onset of pushing but I refused and used it until baby was out. That made all the difference for me, I absolutely loved it. I know some people who hated it though!

I didn’t feel the need for an epidural but had a spontaneous labour that only lasted several hours. Baby also wasn’t back-to-back which I hear is more painful?

I had an epidural with my first and hated what a spare part I felt for the whole of the rest of the labour, how agonising it suddenly was when the epidural wore off and how useless I was at pushing. Plus it made me feel lousy afterwards and I had screaming tinnitus for a year, which apparently is a known side effect.

Before my second was born I read Childbirth Without Fear by Grantly Dick-Read, which was an ancient out-of-print tome on my mum's bookshelves but has since been republished, and I really recommend it. I only had time to read the first chapter or two before it all kicked off, but it made me completely reframe labour as a normal, healthy process and labour pain as just the way it feels when your body is making progress. Sounds wanky but it changed my life. Had two drug-free labours after that and look back on them as incredible experiences. I hope that's not insensitive to anyone who had a difficult time. I get that not everyone has the options or the luck that I did.

I hear this kind of thing a lot: I really think genetics play a major role. My sister and I had similar births to my mother.

As a couple of others have said, the baby's position has a huge deal to do with it.

I wasn't particularly keen on having an epidural in either of my labours. I work in obstetrics, and see the anaesthetic book have two entries for a lot of women. The first entry being their epidural, the second for their C-section/forceps delivery. I recognise now it's correlative, not causative.

Despite my reluctance, I had one with my second as, due to baby being back to back with his head in the wrong position, labour was slow and unproductive. I was in labour for 11.5 hours with my first, and went from 1cm to birth in that time. In 13.5 hours of labour with my second I went from 2cm to a measly 5cm and had a C-section. I got the epidural ~10 hours in.

Congratulations!

No time for me. Forceps, episiotomy and 3C tear with just a paracetamol 🙃🙃🙃

no choice and no time for pethidine either

I much preferred my epic 1st labour with pethidine and epidural, culminating in emergency caesarean- than the pain of my much shorter 2nd labour- ending with ventouse
admittedly it's the difference between shite and shiter!!

luckily I didn't intend to have more children- I honestly couldn't have coped with that pain again

I was pretty unfit both times and I do wonder if being healthier might have helped a bit- maybe the babies would have exited more easily!!

With my first I hadn't ruled out an epidural if I felt I needed one, it just never got to the point where I felt I needed one - I thought labour was going to be so bad I'd want to die rather than have another contraction - never got near that level

Second time I had a homebirth, never felt it got anywhere near where I couldn't cope with just gas

With the third, direct OP, there was a point where I'd have considered it - but I was having him at home, I was 9cm when the midwife got there and knew even if I did decide to go in and have one I'd wouldn't have had time

Fourth was quick and again at home - no gap between them so doubt I'd have had the breathe to ask even if I had wanted to - but he was less than 2 hours from first contraction so likely wouldn't have been able to

Different people are different thats all - had I been offered a neck up epidural for the toothache I'd have taken that

I think a lot of it is down to luck.

Baby was in a good position, labour was not drawn out over days, nice 'clean' gaps between contractions. Also helped that I cope very well with that sort of pain due to years of excruciating period cramps. Give me a particularly nasty splinter, however, and I'm a complete baby. I think they are distinctly different types of pain.

Ultimately it was a bit like one of those 24h vomiting and diarrhoea bugs. You just give yourself up to it in the knowledge it will pass.

oh yes, forgot about the episiotomy!

I asked for an epidural for my first (despite one of the only comments on my ‘birth plan’ being no epidural!).

I asked because I was being induced and had heard that inductions were much more painful.

The epidural went wrong - it went too far into my back so I couldn’t control it (I think you usually get a clicker type thing?) and then I had to have a blood patch around 3/4 days later (we were in hospital for a while due to a load of issues with the birth and sepsis etc so the epidural was just another issue) as I couldn’t sit or stand due to epidural headache so couldn’t even care for my baby.

Swore for my second id never go through that again and this was confirmed by the anaesthetist that I was higher risk of needing another blood patch and so did it on just gas and air. No issues at all so glad I went without second time!

I gave birth with no epidural but was lying down through the height of my contractions. I wasn't physically able to move. It was the only way I was comfortable.

By the time I was on the labour ward, I was too far gone and there was staff available to administer an epidural. I guess once I knew it wasn't option, I had to get on with it. I had a fine labour, in that it was short and I get through it. I would never ever call birth "easy" though. I was traumatised by it all for a little while after. Yet, as my name suggests, here I go again.... 😅

No choice. Not an especially fast labour, but overnight so no anaesthetists were available for non-emergencies.
i only got pethedine by threatening to get up and walk to the duty doctor (I was going into transition), the head midwife was a real bitch. My birth plan said “give me all of the drugs”.

DS1 I was already 6-7cm when I got to hospital. I wanted an epidural but this was June 2014 and England were playing in the euros/world cups (can't remember which) and they told me anaesthetists were tied up in A&E. I was in a world of pain, passed out from too much G&A so when I got to 10cm I had to push with nothing. I think I generally have a pretty high pain threshold and I just did it. No idea how but when it came to pushing my body just did it on its own. DS2 was much easier, didn't feel the need and I was much more in control that time.

Did anyone have an epidural that didn't work?
I'm also still feeling pain in the area 7 months later which shoots up. It's also very sensitive to touch.
Whilst it worked well for me the first time. I really regret asking the second time.

Same here. I went in to be induced and must have said rhe word epidural over 100 times.
Went from 0 to 100 pretty fucking fast so alas no time.

Wouldn't recommend it but to be honest the birth was pretty quick so I got away lightly.

It's strange it's the worst pain imaginable but right after you totally forget the pain.

I tell people "it wasn't that bad" now but ask DP how I felt during and just after 😅😅

I did the whole thing on a single paracetamol having "agreed" an epidural in birth plan.
Hugely traumatic and in an upheld formal complaint "should never have happened ".

My baby and I almost died but thankfully DP was there and literally ran for help. Means we never had another baby but DC is now 10 -worth every minute

I had gas and air but it was sort of manageable. Horrendous but manageable.....

With my first I just couldn't make up my mind whether or not I wanted one, so I tried other things first - water blisters (don't bother with that nonsense, only way it helped was the pain of the saline injection was momentarily worse than the labour pains), then para-cervical block, and then it was too late to get an epidural.

With my second I got an epidural which worked wonderfully until it wore off and then all the subsequent ones they gave me failed. So had to give birth without one even though I really really wanted one. Don't recommend it really.

Home births for two and not an option but I didn't want one. Had gas and air.