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Category: Labour & Delivery

Asked by hondagirl12

Q: Natural birth or Epidural?

Okay so this is my first pregnancy and I'm so scared to get a epidural because I hate needles!!! But I just want every ones opinion on either one and how your experience went. Thanks so much!! :)

This question was asked Aug. 28, 2012 5:54pm
Category: Labour & Delivery

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Answered by jacksonwest - Aug. 29, 2012 12:53pm
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.

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Answered by a member - Aug. 29, 2012 12:34pm
You cannot 'plan' labour, until you truly understand how painful it is. Yes you should educate yourself beforehand as much as possible and be aware that women's bodies are designed to give birth and capable of being really strong.
But, problems arise when you have set expectations of a 'natural' labour and things that will or won't happen because you can put too much pressure on yourself to be perfect, and feel like a failure when it goes 'wrong'. I know from my first labour I was taken by huge surprise by just how different it was to how I'd imagined, and ended up having an epidural, gas, episiotomy and an assisted delivery, after 27 hours of labour. Not what I planned and I felt such a failure I had to have counselling after.

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Answered by a member - Aug. 29, 2012 1:46am
theres no way i could have possibly went natural with my first born. everyone who hasnt givien birth yet, has no idea how painful it is. even when you think you know, you have no idea. that being said, i had an epidural with my first and second deliveries, and with my third i was ready to go natural. i was prepared, it was so amazing and worth the pain, but certainly not easy. there were times i almost lost consciousness during contractions due to the pain. but i got through it with no drug relief and it was the best choice for me at that time.

and i agree with the other ladies, if your in labor the last thing you will worry about is the pain of a needle. you likely wont even feel it if your in labor.

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Answered by a member - Aug. 29, 2012 1:24am
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.

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Answered by jacksonwest - Aug. 28, 2012 9:31pm
This is my first pregnancy and I am planning a natural birth as well. I think it has a lot to do with how much planning you do ahead of time, I want to take a class in natural childbirth where through various techniques they teach you to manage the pain. But I am just shy of 6 weeks so who knows what could happen in between now and then but that is what I have always wanted to do since hearing my mom talking about giving birth to my brother (with epidural) versus me (natural) and how she felt so much better with me and was up and walking right away and breastfeeding was easier.

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Answered by dawgs727 - Aug. 28, 2012 8:12pm
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!

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Answered by hondagirl12 - Aug. 28, 2012 7:31pm
Thank you thank you ladies so much! this all really helps me!!

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Answered by thirdtimemamma - Aug. 28, 2012 7:30pm
I was teriffied about the epidural to! It was a piece of cake and I felt amazing after lol now I'm on my 3rd baby and I will def be getting it :)

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Answered by Noelle8905 - Aug. 28, 2012 7:06pm
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!

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Answered by emilykate93 - Aug. 28, 2012 6:50pm
I am planning on a natural birth but keeping an open mind incase something should happen that I need pain medicine. My advice would be to do you're research for both natural and with an epidural and really weigh the pros and cons of both And if you do go natural keep an open mind incase something were to happen and make sure to look up ways to help u deal with the pain. I am going to have a phrase I say over and over when it gets to the point where I feel like want to give up and try set small goals for myself like making it through 4 more contractions and then after those 4 set the same goal again.

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