re: Epidural Information: pls read before getting one!

I loved going drug-free.

Of course, I have no epidural experience to compare it to...but I'm glad of that.

msplainjane, have you ever heard of someone NOT loving their planned natural birth? I don't think I have. Even if everything didn't go exactly as planned, I've never heard of regrets with going drug-free.

Epidurals on the other hand... 

Quoting MamaBot {EBFB}:“ I loved going drug-free. Of course, I have no epidural experience to compare it to...but I'm glad of ... [snip!] ... if everything didn't go exactly as planned, I've never heard of regrets with going drug-free. Epidurals on the other hand... ”

  


I don't think I've heard of anyone not being happy with it either, it's such an amazing experience! (childbirth in general is but I mean going natural lol)

Quoting msplainjane:“ Eh to each their own I suppose lol. I really enjoyed my natural labor, way more than when I had an ... [snip!] ... epi and was stuck in bed. I don't think I even cried, I came close during transition but I don't know that I actually did lol”

Eveyone is different, but im glad everything went well for you!

yes this information was very good but me i went with out an epibecause i was way to scared of the needle doing in my back so i had no drugs. Yes it hurt like hell but for my son id do it all over again.

theres risks involved in labour no matter what you're using. my boyfriends mother went natural for his little brother and ended up mentally and physically handicapping her child for life because of it. the birth canal was too small and his head ended up getting crushed and they had to remove a part of his brain and his skull.. they were told he wasnt going to survive, he's 18 now but still has to be in a special needs class and for the better part of his childhood was in CHEO on IVs and morphine having surgery after surgery.

this could have been avoided if she would have just taken the c section. so dont assume that natural always means safe if your doctor is advising you to go for a C section then its because its in the interest of you and your child.

and i know theres risks to an epi but ive never personally known anyone who had any sort of problems with it during or after the birth and i plan on using it for my baby. just because i dont see the need to be in unneccessary pain when theres options to help me does not mean i love my son any less or that its any less of an amazing experience just because i wasnt in pain during it.

just because you didnt use drugs doesnt give you the right to talk down about people who do as if they're terrible or lazy and are missing out on something... they are doing the exact same thing as you are, only minus the pain.

also, i have a severe anxiety disorder and without these meds to help settle the pain i could do more harm than good to my child by going into a panic attack and lowering his oxygen supply during the birth. i took myself off my anxiety medication during my pregnancy because it can cause birth defects so i need all the help during the labour as i can get.

simply because you didnt want an epi doesnt mean it doesnt have its uses.

It was weird for me, because I reeeeeally wanted to go all-natural, but my L&D didnt even START naturally. I was induced 8 days after my due date, and still decided not to have an epi or anything for pain. Almost 8 hours of the worst back labor and contractions that went completely OFF the screen, I was dilated to 3 cm and 15% effaced. I was that if I didnt take the epi, I could possibly be in labor for another 24 hours, at which point they would have to do a C-section. And for a C-section, as far as I know, you have no choice but to have some kind of pain killer. So instead of prolonging the inevitable, I sucked it up and took the epi. As soon as I got the epi, things went alot smoother. About 1 1/2 hours later, my 7 lb 10 oz son was in my arms, WIDE awake, no problems whatsoever. The only reason we didnt bond very well in the hospital is because I was in complete and utter shock, realizing that I then held a life in my hands, and that if I screwed up as a 16 yr old parent, it could scar my child forever. I was terrified, like almost anyone would be who isnt as ready for a child as someone else. Long story, yes, but the point is, sometimes the epi isnt an option, and I am all for natural childbirth, but after my experience, I would NEVER down someone because they chose the epi. Its a personal decision, but like breastfeeding (which I did), and whether you want to use cloth diapers or disposables, or whether you want to start them off in a church early or let them decide for themselves later. Point being, if you do your very best at your job as a mother, normally, your child ends up just fine. Even the ones who do or dont choose and epi!  

awesome points