Natural birth vs epidural - why not go for no pain (first timer question....)

[Newb]

So next week I have to go to the hospital to talk to them about what kind of birth I want. Apparently here (Switzerland)you can have an epidural right from the start if you want.

Why doesn't everyone go for this?

Presumably it's no pain vs likely hours of lots of pain. I sort of feel at a primitive level that I should try for it as naturally as possible, but why do I think this?

Yours curiously.....(and slightly nervously)

PS I did have the epidural lined up and ready to go if I needed it with DS2. Knowing it was there if I really felt I couldn't cope without it, made it easier to do without it as I kept saying to myself "One more contraction, one more contraction" and before I knew it my baby had come out

Newb I felt the same way as you in that I had a strange primitive desire to try it alone and was also terrified that it just couldnt be possible without drugs! I had heard about this cascade idea though where drugs can make it a whole lot harder in some cases.. I am a wimp and didn't want loads of intervention so I opted for a home birth and must admit I loved it (in a very strange fashion!). Even being transferred to hospital with baby almost out and needing ventous didn't spoil the most amazing feeling of accomplishment. Apart for the very last bit it wasn't unbearable pain in my experience and being at home and relaxed helped no end. I used a pool as well which apparently as good as epi I wouldn't know for sure but it worked for me! There is a lot to say for what your body does naturally in a straightforward birth, its pretty amazing.

I think a good reason for not opting for an epidural from the start is the risk of it slowing down labour.

Personally, I had no particular interest in experiencing the whole of labour per se (it just doesn't seem to do a lot for me), but I did want to get through it as efficiently as possible, and gas and air was about right for that.

I did my research and I decided that the least pain option was to go for a drug-free home water birth. The reason was that it was the most likely to have no tearing/episiotomy and less likely to end in a c-section.

I had a friend who had exactly the attitude you describe and she found the whole thing traumatising. She wasn't expecting any pain, during or after, and she felt pain through the epidural which panicked her a bit, thus making the whole experience much more unpleasant, and had a horrendous recovery from the episiotomy and so on afterwards.

I reckoned that the pain on the day would be over in a few hours, the pain of stitches/c-sec recovery could last a hell of a lot longer.

Plus I'm a control freak and unwilling to let a doctor take control if I have a choice about it.

And I hate needles. The idea of a needle that size stuck into my spine was a wonderful motivator to do without.

In the end I found the birth of ds a really enjoyable experience, despite the pain (which in my case wasn't that bad anyway). And I was up and about the next day.

i think if you go into it with an open mind you'll be fine. i didn't, i just assumed that if i asked for an epi i'd get one.

i didn't, there was another emergency and only 1 aneasthetist (sp?) so i had the horrible realisation that i'd have to do this without pain relief and it really scared me.

With DS1 I had to have an epidural due to complications. It was botched and I ended up with nerve damage in my legs, and unable to control my bladder and bowels for a few weeks. But the worst thing was that when they handed my baby to me, it was a surprise as I had not felt him come out. It took a long time before I felt he was really mine.

With DS2 I had no pain relief at all and was at home. It was not really painful apart from the last few minutes, which weren't that bad either.

I think either you need an epidural, or you don't, and you will probably know when labour is under way.

Newb, I found this book, Blooming Birth to be very helpful when researching about birht and pain relief and what to expect.

I gave birth in Spain where the only pain relief available is epidural and intervention and c-section rates are very high.

I did not want an epidural but came to accept that it might be my only option if the pain was not manageable for me or the labour was very long.
In the end I didn't have one, though it took 12 hours for me to get 5cm dilated but only an hour to go to 10cm with the second stage taking another hour.

The worst bit for me was the hour before the second (pushing) stage - as I did not know when the big painful contractions would end.
However the second stage was also painful but at least I knew it would end when the baby arrived.

Do you have any other pain relief options or is it epidural or nothing?

I found it helpful to know what my ideal situation would be and to also think about what might happen in the likely event that my ideal didn't happen.

Good luck with whatever you decide and I hope it all goes well for you.

By the way - I didn't want an epidural becauase I didn't like the idea of not being able to move around, not feel my legs, not be incontrol etc, but I understand that you can get mobile epidurals - I think someone here already talked about that.

If I were to do it again I would do it somewhere with gas and air.

I don't think anyone has mentioned that any pain relief drugs taken during birth except Gas & Air can have an effect on breastfeeding at the very beginning - now, I do NOT think this is necessarily a negative of pain relief, I just think it's something women should be made aware of so that if they do have pethidine, an epidural or a c-section, they might have trouble breastfeeding and to be prepared for that if they want to succeed, ie realise it's a temporary problem and it's not that their boobs/the baby is rubbish at bf, and they can do it if they want to, and it might just take a little bit longer to get established.

It's a question of personal choice and there's no right or wrong answer. Personally, I had waited so long to get pregnant, and I kind of wanted to experience every bit of it. I had also been a birth partner three times before giving birth myself. The first of those births was amazing to witness: all through, the mum (my friend) kept saying, "You know, this doesn't hurt that much" and refused all pain relief. The birth was silent, gentle, wonderful: my godson emerged with his eyes wide open, staring up at his mother. Absolutely beautiful.

Now, I wasn't so daft to think that all or even many births are like that (the other two I was at both ended up with epidural and emergency caesarean) but it did make me appreciate the range of experiences of birth, and that I wanted to go in with an open mind and not close off any outcome, IYSWIM. I asked for a birth pool, but also made sure I went to a hospital where you can get an epidural within about 2.5 seconds

In the event I did 6 hours on TENS, 5 hours on Entonox, one hour epidural then emergency CS. I can't tell you how fabulous that epidural felt by the time I got it, but I am also so very glad I got to experience what labour feels like. I wouldn't have lost that experience for the world. But that's just me.

You don't need to decide in advance, you know

www.bupa.co.uk/health_information/html/health_news/230205epiduralcaesarean.html

I don't really understand why if you had an epi at 5 cm + it would interfer with a sucessful birth. You still have contractions, everything happens you just don't feel it. You need to listen well to you MW in order to push well but I really don't understand how it effects things?? Educate me! I was able to move around on the bed, change position etc. I don't get it!

No-one can tell you how you are going to feel in labour, some women find labour horifically painful and some find it orgasmic. All I will say is read around, make sure you know what your options are, try and find a way that will help you cope with labour. Personally I think knowledge is power and not bothering to research c-sections because you are going to do it all naturally or not bothering to research other pain relief methods because you want an epidural from the start is short-sighted.

Thanks very much for all your messages. Food for thought. I will definitely do some reading around (though not too much googling as it always comes up with scary stuff and will also have a good talk to the midwives next week. TBH it didn't occur to me that I could decide more depending on how things went at the time (big advance planner emoticon.....)

I guess people want to know exactly what the epidural is blocking!

My labour pains were excruciating to the extent I could not sit or lie or even think about pushing anything out (this is unusual I hear, so don't be scared!) I had an epidural and could then concentrate on giving birth rather than trying to run away from the pain (I mean literally run out of the room/round the bed etc).

Like someone else said there are NO medals for suffering and TBH I think the lack of pain following the epidural helped marvellously in terms of viewing what was a very difficult birth, looking back, with a lot of happiness. If I'd have to suffer that pain through the birth I would have been mentally scarred I am sure of that.

tryingtobemarypoppins: one reason is that baby's ability to descend and rotate into a good position for birth can be effected....this is partly why you tend to have more assisted deliveries and surgeries when an epidural is used. Baby's descent and position can play a role in dilation and the progress of labour, this is why you may see an increase in c-sections due to "failure to progress".

Sometimes an epidural does the opposite, mother relaxes, her body does what it needs to, and labour progresses just fine.

The consideration is that you don't know how your body will respond and in turn, how your labour and baby will respond. Not everyone can move around very well...most will remain mostly on their backs or in a reclined position....perhaps with some rotations to their sides.

OP - I think this thread has explained very fully why many women choose to go without an epidural - the increased risk of interventions, which statistically are not good for the baby being the main reason.

I think as long as you approach labour expecting it to be painful, but also having a supportive birth partner, and if possible a known midwife, it's amazing what a difference that makes.

I felt like you with my first baby, mainly because all but two of us from my antenatal group booked into a big hospital precisely because they were worried they wouldn't cope without an epidural. The two of us who booked into the local Midwife led unit (no epidural available but fantastic midwives, a birthing pool and g and a) were considered either very brave or bonkers! However, it was an utterly empowering experience. Yes, it hurts, a lot, especially first time round as your body hasn't stretched that much before, but it really is manageable! So I do know what it's like to almost feel you're going against the grain - having to stick your neck out and say 'No, I really can do this. I'm not going to be pushed down the medicalised route'.

The other thing that strikes me from this thread is the number of women who do have an epidural first time round, often followed by forceps/ventouse etc, who then manage to give birth without the second time. In nearly every case they feel happier and more fulfilled with the second birth experience. So why not go straight for the natural experience first time around?

Because giving birth can be fantastic.
I've done it 9 times and have got excited every time I knew that I was in labour.

NINE times juule?? WOW

I'm following this thread with interest. I had a home birth with dd, just had gas and air. The pain was SO much worse thatn anything I had ever imagine .

Apart from the pain it was a lovely birth (pool at home, 2 lovely midwives, DP very involved, going to our own bed with a proper cup of tea etc) but I'm scared shitless for next time.

I don't want to go into hospital and I would love another hb but I keep remembering the pain and freaking out

Bunny - second and subsequent births are most often shorter and easier!

I was shocked by the pain of giving birth naturally first time around too - but I'm still so glad I did it, and I've never felt so empowered!

I said no to epidurial, just wanted all natural

I really hope you're right violet! Lots of people have told me it's easier second time round.

I'm really glad I had my natural home birth and I have no regrets. The reasons for choosing it still prevail. I loved the comfort of home and the non-medicalised approach.

As a first timer I just had no concept of what childbirth is like. Choosing to have a home birth was either wonderfully brave or wonderfully naive .

We're hoping to conceive dc2 soon - I was thinking of trying a hypnobirthing course to help me with the pain this time.

I've had two colossally long labours with babies who were posterior(first and third babies - second was a 7 hour homebirth).

First labour I needed an epidural because I got crap care, was terrified and was discouraged from mobilising.

Third labour (which was actually longer) I didn't need an epidural because I had really brilliant one to one care from an independent midwife who was with me at home and who stayed with me in hospital when I transferred in for failure to progress. I also had a friend with me cheering me on for most of the labour. I got through that labour with just gas and air.

I would not have chosen an epidural for a first birth, except in response to a difficult labour, as births tend to be complicated once you have gone down this route as a first time mum.

I had a epidural as I as induced. My waters broke and 4 days later still no contractions. My reasons for having an epidural were that I'd heard some horror stories about the pain of induced birth, I was already strapped to a monitor and drip and that there was a big chance my labour would be long/end in CS anyway. My labour was 7 hours long including 50 minutes pushing and my baby was alert and latched on straight away.

An epidural doesn't have to be a horrible experience. My daughter's birth was still amazing and I felt very empowered and full of happy hormones. I did have 2 biggish tears but who's to say that wouldn't have happened anyway (baby with big head). At least I couldn't feel them or the stitches.

Having said that next time I want a home birth (no MW led unit where I live) but if it gets too much I'd have an epidural again.

It's great if you can manage without an epidural but don't worry too much if you need or want one. The birth can still be amazing.