I'm expecting my first at the beginning of August so I have no idea what childbirth will be like but none, I repeat none, of my friends who already have children reported it to be an 'orgasmic' experience. They all thought it was bloody awful. A lot of them said that they wished they had been better prepared for the amount of pain they had. Most of them felt out of control and in panic when the contractions finally kicked in. They said that they wished people had been more honest, esp the leaders in their classes NHS or NCT, breathing excercises and aromatherapy didn't work for any of my friends. They were all screaming for drugs and the ones that were most traumatised by their delivery were the ones that couldn't get the pain relief they wanted or didn't get it quick enough (either because they were too far on or noone was available to administer an epidural). As I've said this is just my circly of friends.
The though of not haveing ready access to whatever pain relief I want certainly worries me.
So, to sum up I think there are two sides to it all. It's not good to frighten the living daylights out of first time mums with all the horror stories going but rose-tinting the experience of childbirth by telling them they can (and should) simply 'breathe through the pain' is not helpful either, as creates false expectations and makes women feel like failures when they do ask for medication.
I, personally, think that women should have as much choice in birth as possible, if they want to give it a really good go with as little pain medication as possible then they should receive as much support as possible (e.g. a full-time midwife or doula) and, alternatively, if a woman walks into the delivery suite asking for an epidural she should bloody well get one there and then without having to wait.
Childbirth is not a competition and every woman is different in what she needs and wants. That should be respected.
Personally, in my NCT class, I feel that the idea of 'natural' childbirth with as little intervention as possible is pushed as little too hard. It is seen as the ultimate goal. I think it sets up unrealistic expections in women and if the birth then goes differently (which statistically there is a good chance for a first time birth) women feel like total failures or are dissappointed that they didn't get a 'good birth'. IMHO a healthy baby and a healthy mother are the ultimate goal of any delivery no matter how it is achieved.
climbing off the soapbox now