All I can say is would you have your appendix taken out without any anaesthetic? Just because a pain is 'natural' doesn't mean you should have to put up with it. I don't think anyone can criticise another woman for choosing to have an epidural. I was determined to have a 'natural' birth but that went out the window when it became clear my daughter was stuck and wasn't going anywhere. I had a spinal block and an assisted delivery -does this somehow make my birthing experience not as a valid?