Questions & Answers

Of course you can plan labor, isn't there a question in your profile about your birth PLAN? It's a very good idea to know ahead of time what you want and choose where you give birth based on those decisions. Obviously childbirth is painful, but there are ways to alleviate the pain without drugs (breathing techniques, walking, water birth) and much of the way women give birth today makes the pain worse (pitocin makes contractions more painful, being on your back in bed increases the pain). Just educate yourself and don't just do what your doc/hospital says as they will most likely benefit from it money-wise. Why is natural childbirth less common? Because there's no money in it, doctors would rather push planned c-sections and expensive hospital births. Of course you never know what will happen, and some women need expensive deliveries (high risk) but there is nothing wrong with hoping for the best.

With my first I wanted to have her natural and they did give me pitocin. I also had back labor with her which makes the contractions even more painful. When the contractions were to the point that I could not take it anymore, it was too late for the epidural because I was 9 cm. My next 3 I had epidurals with. I have a really high pain tolerance but my other 3 births were so much better than my first. It's all a personal choice.

lol am i comparing a tooth to a baby...well not exactly! what im trying to say is alot of mothers feel guilt after childbirth if they get an epidural, including myself. I had epidurals with my first 2 and went natural with my 3rd. but i did have that guilt for caving and getting the pain meds the first 2 times around. after being hard on myself afterwards, my mother was quick to console me and said "hunny, people get numbed when going to the dentist these days, dont feel bad for doing the same for childbirth" but i will say i felt amazing after the drug free delivery, and will be doing it again! best of luck everyone,with whatever choice you make

I'm planning on getting the epidural as soon as I can't handle the pain anymore! I've been told that the epidural being given is nothing compared to the pain from the contractions!

jacksonwest... I know that this is not an answer to the above question but you could not be more wrong about the so called money making motives of a doctor. Yes there are some drs out there that are scum but the majority of them are doing what is best for the patient. They do NOT make more money depending on the epidural or not (the hospital and the anesthesiologist or CRNA pockets the money for the epidural not the OB). Yes they make more money for a C-section (which they should) but it is also capped off by insurance companies. As I am sure you know and are trying to point out, C-sections are in fact on the rise. In general most women are older now when giving birth to their first child, we are more obese increasing the chances for gestastional diabetes and a large baby in addition to many other problems associated with obesity and childbirth which increases the likelihood of a C-section. My husband and I are doctors and I resent that implication that we are money driven.....

I was actually more scared about the epidural than the delivery with my daughter, but I work in medicine and delivered several babies during school for women without an epidural and it didn't look like something I wanted to do! By the time I got my epidural with my daughter I could have cared less. My contractions were painful and I so wanted the relief. I barely felt the needle and it was over in a flash!!! I am pregnant again and am getting an epidural again no question!!!!!!! From a medical standpoint the epidural does not affect the baby and did not make it difficult for me to push. I was so nice and relaxed during the delivery and mostly pain free (just lots of pressure) that I actually enjoyed childbirth (as much as you can) and have no fears about doing it again! That being said, everyone should make their own decisions on what kind of childbirth they want to have!!! Good luck to you and have a safe delivery!

Well I had planned a natural birth but was open minded for epidural . My advice would be to have a plan but also be open minded as I ended up with pre eclampsia along with HELLP syndrome so all my plans went out the window quickly due to a emergency induction. I made it 6 hrs without an epidural or any pain meds while on pitocin but then I decided on an epidural. I never once saw the needle and the contractions compared to the slight sting of the needle was nothing. I also had no side affects from the epidural except I did get kind of itchy on my belly for about 15 minutes but that was about it.

Just a heads up.... ANYONE who plans on having a natural birth, but plans on keeping the option of pain medicine "if needed".... will, WILL, get the epidural.

So if you're planning on keeping an open mind, just stick with the fact you are in fact planning on an epidural... because there is no "maybe".

Once labor gets tough, if you have it in your heart at all that you "might" get an epidural... YOU WILL. There kind of is no in-between zone there.

lol am i comparing a tooth to a baby...well not exactly! what im trying to say is alot of mothers feel guilt after childbirth if they get an epidural, including myself. I had epidurals with my first 2 and went natural with my 3rd. but i did have that guilt for caving and getting the pain meds the first 2 times around. after being hard on myself afterwards, my mother was quick to console me and said "hunny, people get numbed when going to the dentist these days, dont feel bad for doing the same for childbirth" but i will say i felt amazing after the drug free delivery, and will be doing it again! best of luck everyone,with whatever choice you make

Okay lets not blow up my question by being rude or snide to other members answers so far I have really liked every ones answer for the most part, and this was just for me to get others opinions. Not for others to be mean and pick apart what others say. This is just my first pregnancy and I wanted to see what others had to say about their experiences.
And I liked Brittany0915's answer I know that getting your tooth pulled is nothing compared to having a baby. But I liked her example of it. It made sense to me!
So I hope you all have a great day :) Thanks