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oh and my blood pressure has been normal throughout mw pregnancy, he's been head down since 28w, he's active as, all my bloods and scans have been normal, i'm 100% healthy. i'm not sure what caused the complications in my relatives though so that's not much of a comfort :-S

I don't think it matters, a lot of my family has had c-sections for the same reason and I had all 3 of mine vaginally but with an epi.

Was the epidural your choice or medically necessary? so freaked that somethings gonna go wrong, just want a healthy baby and drug free birth

Quoting SulleyNZ:" Was the epidural your choice or medically necessary? so freaked that somethings gonna go wrong, just want a healthy baby and drug free birth"

Epidurals during labor are never medically necessary

I don't think it matters. My mom had all three kids with no pain killers (including an induction with pitocin) and I had a csection.

Family history really doesn't have anything to do with it. My mom, aunt, and all female cousins had csections. I had a natural home water birth, and my daughter was 9lbs3oz.

The root of it all is that you have to RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH... Know the positions that are good for natural labor. Figure out ways to stand/move that will assist your body in dilation. Lying down on a bed is the worst way to labor because you're not getting the assistance from gravity. Stand up, squat, sit on a yoga ball, do lots of walking during labor. Request that you and baby are monitored intermittently rather than being constantly hooked up to a heartbeat monitor and IV. Have a birth plan! Inform your doctor of your plans for a natural birth. Make sure he is on board and ask that the nurses please not try to force or persuade you into pain medication during labor. (I'm telling you right now, it's painful. If I were in a hospital and had nurses offering me an epi, I probably would have taken it.) Have a birth supporter... boyfriend, husband, etc, or a DOULA. A doula will be your voice during labor. Tell your birth supporter not to let you give into wanting medication... to remind you during labor that women have been doing this naturally for thousands of years and that you're perfectly capable. You CAN DO IT. You just need the information and support and confidence in yourself.

*steps off natural birth soap box* ;)

Quoting ashley noel [34 weeks!]:" Epidurals during labor are never medically necessary"

I dont agree with this. My sister in law had an induction and after 8 hours of intense full on labour, had only dilated 4cm, so the only way she was ever going to deliver her baby naturally was to have an epi, and relax and sleep so she could continue with the rest of her full on labour. Which turned out being 15 hours of intense (contractions every 15-30 seconds), ended up needing extensive episiotomy, forcepts after failed vacuum extraction. So I think in some cases, to have a vaginal birth, epi's are necessary.

Quoting Sonia Tuckerman:" I dont agree with this. My sister in law had an induction and after 8 hours of intense full on labour, ... [snip!] ... episiotomy, forcepts after failed vacuum extraction. So I think in some cases, to have a vaginal birth, epi's are necessary."

Well then we can agree to disagree. My labor was 31 hours long with horrible back labor/contractions every 2 minutes because she was posterior. I pushed for two hours. By the time I had given birth I had been awake for 40+ hours and I was beyond exhaustion. I'd be willing to bet her position and some other factors played a role. But yeah, agree to disagree.  

Quoting ashley noel [34 weeks!]:" Family history really doesn't have anything to do with it. My mom, aunt, and all female cousins had csections. ... [snip!] ... You CAN DO IT. You just need the information and support and confidence in yourself. *steps off natural birth soap box* ;)"

My midwife is very pro natural birth, and my other half is extremely paranoid and doesn't want me gettin epidural or having the pethidine based on the after effects on our son, but i'll be giving birth in a hospital which makes me nervous cos i've heard that simply being in a hospital increases your chances of assisted birth by like 30%?

Quoting Sonia Tuckerman:" I dont agree with this. My sister in law had an induction and after 8 hours of intense full on labour, ... [snip!] ... episiotomy, forcepts after failed vacuum extraction. So I think in some cases, to have a vaginal birth, epi's are necessary."

i was given an epi to help me dialate. they said it would help relax my body (had to be induced because of BP) and then i could continue to dialate. it worked. i got to about a six but then had to have a c-section because baby's heart rate was dropping.

Seems like people only share the horror stories and are only too happy to say you can't do it or it's too hard.. tbh it hurt like smurf to hear that comin from my mother, to me it was like she was sayin i was weak or something, and that i'd give in right away for my own selfish reasons instead of holding out for my son. Not that i think people are selfish for taking pain meds, but because of my decision to go drug free i'd feel selfish if i strayed from that plan for anything less than a medical emergency if that makes sense. i told them i wanted no medical intervention unless one of us would die/become seriously ill without it.

Quoting SulleyNZ:" My midwife is very pro natural birth, and my other half is extremely paranoid and doesn't want me gettin ... [snip!] ... which makes me nervous cos i've heard that simply being in a hospital increases your chances of assisted birth by like 30%?"

Do they have an alternative birthing center? Some hospitals are affiliated with one or attached to one. They are based around natural, no intervention birthing. Ask your midwife?

Quoting SulleyNZ:" Seems like people only share the horror stories and are only too happy to say you can't do it or it's ... [snip!] ... if that makes sense. i told them i wanted no medical intervention unless one of us would die/become seriously ill without it."

Everyone did that to me prior to my daughter's birth... My MIL especially. She INSISTED I would be screaming for the drugs and that there was no way it could be done... Well I'll tell ya, it was lovely to shove it in her face afterward! LOL 

You can never "plan" labor, I learned that the hard way. I wanted an all-natural delivery. (I had to deliver in the hospital because of kidney disease) I went natural through my induction until hour 15, got an epi and as she progressed into the birth canal had to get a c-section in the end because her cord was wrapped around her whole body multiple times and around her neck/head 3 times. If I were to have given birth naturally her air supply would've been compromised.