If you didn't have an epidural...

[pamela]

I really didn't want one and cried the whole time he was sticking it in my back because I was so scared that it would go wrong and I'd get a spinal headache (had one before from a spinal tap - worst pain ever). However, with my induction and low blood pressure and DS not cooperating with the monitors, I was too strapped down to the bed to be able to work through the contractions. Once they placed the internal monitoring, I had to give in and get it. I was literally tied to the bed from 3 sides with wires and tubes. It did actually seem to speed up my labor though. Maybe because they could crank the pitocin more or because I could relax. I was able to feel the appropriate pressure to push effectively, but don't remember any pain after it kicked in. The pain before it was just the worst menstrual cramps ever.

I actually got a flashback of my labor recently during my last miscarriage. I was laying on the bathroom floor using the techniques from my natural birth training in my first post-surgery period. And the memories of labor that post-partum hormones must have erased came temporarily flooding back. The techniques worked though.

[AmyRI]

I didn't get one either time. I hate needles and getting the hep lock in my hand was horrible enough. I went in expecting the pain to get so bad that I could overcome my fear for the chance of relief, but it honestly never got that bad. So I just didn't need or want it.

[dulcemariamar]

Jan 20, 2014 13:24:30 GMT -5 anna7602 said:

Jan 20, 2014 12:00:59 GMT -5 dulcemariamar said:

I thought the pushing part was horrible but I have nothing to compare it to. Does the epi take away all of the pain? What do you feel when you push?

I found the pushing part to be sweet relief after 18 hours of labor. 

Honestly, as hippy-dippy as I am, I wish there was some kind of epidural available for about a week after giving birth. That was the point at which my breasts were sore from nursing, my back and neck were sore from the same, and the rest of me was sore from not sleeping much. I would have loved to be anesthesized at that point. Instead, I brought an acupuncturist to my home.

Really?? I hated hated the pushing phase. I remember reading how so many people said the same as you when I was pregnant. And all I could think about during the pushing part, was how much you guys lied... Two hours. no bueno

[212]

Jan 20, 2014 13:24:30 GMT -5 anna7602 said:

Jan 20, 2014 12:00:59 GMT -5 dulcemariamar said:

I thought the pushing part was horrible but I have nothing to compare it to. Does the epi take away all of the pain? What do you feel when you push?

I found the pushing part to be sweet relief after 18 hours of labor. 

Honestly, as hippy-dippy as I am, I wish there was some kind of epidural available for about a week after giving birth. That was the point at which my breasts were sore from nursing, my back and neck were sore from the same, and the rest of me was sore from not sleeping much. I would have loved to be anesthesized at that point. Instead, I brought an acupuncturist to my home.

I totally agree. I was "prepared" for the pain of childbirth, but I was VERY unprepared for how broken I'd feel postpartum. It was awful. Sign me up for an after birth epi.

Next time I'm getting a pp doula to help me manage. My recovery was exponentially worse than my 28hr (3 in transition) med free birth. Yikes.

[matildasun]

I did not have an epidural either time I gave birth. I planned on a med-free birth both times. The first was to see if I could do it, and the second was a combo of well I did it before, and holy shit there is no time for that. Both times I labored at home, which really worked for me.

With my daughter I labored at home for a while with most of that time spent in the shower. I got to the hospital at 7cms. I pushed for 5 hrs, because my daughter was stuck. During that time I had lidocaine, because I have chronic vulvular pain which made pushing difficult. They tried pitocin later to see if they could strengthen the contractions. I was given more lidocaine before they used the vacuum. Transition was difficult, and pushing was a relief until I got tired. The lidocaine took away the ring of fire, so that was good.

With my son I was in denial that I was in labor at first and then chose to stay home and manage the labor pains there. We walked a mile round trip to cvs, I spent some time in the shower, and rolled around on the labor ball while eating Italian ice. I realized quickly that it was time to go (both times I self checked, and this time I was very very dilated). I began transition in the car, and when I got to labor and delivery my water broke when I went to give them a urine sample. They were unable to check me, because it was suddenly time to push. My husband walked in with a nurse who asked him if I was planning on an epi. I thought "Wow, that sounds amazing, yes please!" and then "Wait! they think there is time for that? They have no idea how fast this baby is coming". This time I felt the ring of fire and even though it was excruciating I was relieved, because it meant pushing wouldn't take 5 hrs. Since I hadn't had an epi and was already sitting up, I was able to reach down and catch my son myself.

[mie]

I had an epidural with kids 1 and 2 and intended to have one with kid 3, but labor went too fast and I ended going without it. Hindsight is that I probably could have gone without the epidural for kid 2 because the nurse checked me and asked me if I was sure I wanted it and it didn't really kick in so I could still feel contractions.

[Velar Fricative]

Jan 20, 2014 12:00:59 GMT -5 dulcemariamar said:

I got the epi but it didnt work. If i wanted the epi, I had to get pitocin. I wasnt keen on that but I had been in labor for over 25 hours so I was scared about getting a c-section so I was up to trying anything at that point.

I thought the pushing part was horrible but I have nothing to compare it to. Does the epi take away all of the pain? What do you feel when you push?

There was no pain during the pushing phase with the epidural. I felt pressure but it was very tolerable; it was enough to know that progress was being made. But I hated pushing only because it was so exhausting.

[gibbinator]

Jan 20, 2014 14:00:37 GMT -5 dulcemariamar said:

Jan 20, 2014 13:24:30 GMT -5 anna7602 said:

I found the pushing part to be sweet relief after 18 hours of labor. 

Honestly, as hippy-dippy as I am, I wish there was some kind of epidural available for about a week after giving birth. That was the point at which my breasts were sore from nursing, my back and neck were sore from the same, and the rest of me was sore from not sleeping much. I would have loved to be anesthesized at that point. Instead, I brought an acupuncturist to my home.

Really?? I hated hated the pushing phase. I remember reading how so many people said the same as you when I was pregnant. And all I could think about during the pushing part, was how much you guys lied... Two hours. no bueno

I'm right there with you. I hated pushing. It was 1.5 hours of haze where I just wanted to strangle the nurse whenever she told me to push because no position felt good except lying curled up in a little (giant pregnant) ball on my side (a position which does not favour evicting babies...). I was so tired and uncomfortable. ETA: I also never felt this "urge to push" so that probably plays a part in not wanting to.

[ginkgoleaf]

I didn't want to increase my chances of a stalled labor and other interventions. Plus the idea of a needle in my back skeezed me out. I wanted my baby to be alert and not drugged up when born. And I wanted to be able to say I did it!

I labored at home with the help of my BFF who is a labor and delivery nurse, and another friend who is a trained massage therapist. Oh and my husband I felt super comfortable with my BFF saying when we needed to leave for the hospital, and I was well aware of when I hit transition and knew myself it was time to go. I was 10 cm when we got to the hospital and the only thing I got was an IV. The dr broke my water right before I started pushing and DS was born 30 minutes later. I will definitely lean towards natural childbirth with any subsequent babies.

[KKD]

I had an epidural with my first and don't regret it; it was the right decision at the time, since I was induced and knew I had a long road ahead of me but had no idea how much worse it would get. (Spoiler alert: it gets much, much worse.)

With my second, we waited too long to leave the house so that I ended up transitioning in the car and was already 9cm by the time I finally got into my hospital bed and delivered only 15 minutes later.

With my third, I wanted to go med-free again but ended up needing an induction, which had me worried that I'd be confined to my bed and not able to move around like I knew I would need to in order to manage the pain. When I was finally moved to L&D, I was only 5cm but with painful contractions right on top of one another and didn't think I'd be able to last several more hours, figuring that was what it would take. However, I ended up progressing quickly, and when I was 7cm only 15 minutes later, I knew I could make it after all and ended up going from 5-10cm in just 30 minutes or so.

Like others, though, if my second and third labors hadn't progressed quickly, I don't think I would have made it without an epi. Or maybe it's because they progressed so quickly that made them more painful? In any case, it was incredibly hard and but also empowering to have done it.

For me, the hardest part is definitely transition. Like anna7602, pushing the baby out was the only relief. (Though with my first, I pushed for two hours, but that was eased by the epi, thankfully.) The ring of fire has nothing on transition, imo.

[ilikedonuts]

I had an epi with my first pregnancy and no epi the 2nd time. I have no pain tolerance at all and am a big baby.

There was actually no time the 2nd time. I had been induced with pitocin and it moved crazy fast (like an hour from contractions starting to when DD2 was born). It hurt like absolute hell and I thought I was dying (pitocin made my contractions come on top of each other with basically no break or just a 15 second break between them).

I can tell you that if we have another, I will absolutely try my hardest to go epi free again. I felt so much better with the epi free labor and delivery.

[osulori]

I hated pushing too, only because it took forever for AJ to get moving so there was a ton of two steps forward, one and a half steps back. Until the on call OB from my practice got there, coached me through a set of pushes, and suggested the vacuum that is. At the same time though, I was glad to be doing something because my water had broken over 24 hours prior (water broke around 145am on 7/17, Aj was born 642a on 7/18).

[elocrates]

Before DS1 was born, my plan was to go med-free. I'd seen many births and decided that I liked the way the med-free ones went best (you know, since I hadn't had a baby before, ha). It turns out all my labors were really, really fast, and I didn't have time to get an epidural so I'm glad I had prepared to go med-free. If we were to have a 4th child (which we won't, we're done at 3) I would need a cerclage and the plan would be to be induced the same day the cerclage was taken out if I didn't immediately go in to labor on my own. In that case, having done this three times before, I think I'd like to try an epidural just to see what it is like (since I'd have time to get it, theoretically).

Like a PP mentioned, it feels a little bit like a physical accomplishment for myself (like a marathon, etc., though I know it is nothing like a marathon and it's an accomplishment to have a baby no matter how they arrive) and I'm just stubborn enough that I thought the challenge would be "fun." Probably not the best reasons, I know.

[lolo]

I am so jealous of all the fast pushers!

[Deleted]

Jan 20, 2014 21:32:29 GMT -5 lolo said:

I am so jealous of all the fast pushers!

Both my kitchen and my vagina wish it had taken a little longer.

[oceanstbride]

Jan 20, 2014 13:14:17 GMT -5 anna7602 said:

I was afraid of the epidural causing labor to stall and possibly causing a "cascade of interventions." I didn't like the idea of not being able to move around during labor. I didn't like the idea of having to spend more time in the hospital than necessary during labor. And, finally, I just wanted to see if I could find other, non-drug ways to manage the pain. 

I do not regret not getting the epidural. I arrived at the hospital fully dilated and ready to push and am very happy with my birth experience. Having a doula helped. 

Ditto almost exactly this. The "cascade of interventions" was ingrained in my mind in nursing school. I also wanted to be able to use gravity and move freely while in labor and knew that I wouldn't be able to do that with an epi (hospital doesn't do "walking" epi's). That said, I was more open to an epi after our childbirth class after our midwife said that with the epi, you can move positions while in bed such as moving from side to side, on all fours, etc. I also have a pretty big vasovagal response (will sometimes faint) with needles and was very nervous about the placement of an epi. And thirdly, I wanted to believe that women's bodies are made to have babies. I realize that's probably not a popular opinion. All of my labor and delivery "thoughts" came from a very low intervention midwife professor.
 
L&D with DS was not the norm. I had a very fast labor for a FTM and had my first cervical check approximately 5 minutes before DS was born in the triage room. The pain was incredibly intense, but in my situation, it was relatively short. Pushing felt amazing and I'm happy I was able to effectively push and get him out quick (again very fast L&D).

[h]

My strategy with all my births was to labor unmediated for as long as I could stand it, but allow mysf to get the epi if/when I felt I needed it. With DS1 I got the epi about 2/3 of the way through active labor, when I was 7 cm. With DS2, I got it 20 minutes before I started pushing when I was in transition.

And then there was DS3...I got to the hospital really late in the game, and ended up getting an epidural literally less than three minutes before I was holding my baby. There was no voluntary pushing; he just slid out. The anesthesiologist was still in the room. Needless to say, the epi never kicked in. I am still shocked they gave it to me.

I liked certain things about basically not having an epi with DS3, like laboring at home and being able to move around immediately after he was born. But if I were to have another baby (not happening), I think I would plan to get the epi earlier. The level of pain and fear I experienced at the end was kind of traumatic for me. My other kids' births felt much calmer.

[Mrs.Syntax]

Jan 20, 2014 10:11:34 GMT -5 chilerellanos said:

I didn't really have a stance either way. If I felt like I needed one, I'd get it. With all three labors, by the time I got to that point, it was too late and I was delivering. If I had a long labor though, I'd totally get one just so I could get some rest.

This was my position exactly. When DD2 was born I was also rolling without insurance, so I wanted to keep costs down if possible.

[pinkpinot]

I had a home birth so meds weren't really an option however I had a fast labor, 4 hours and all back labor that was painful. If I hadn't been in so much pain, I probably would have made H take me to the hospital for all the pain meds. I could not have have lasted for anything longer than 4 hours I don't think.

[lishie]

With my second, I didn't have a choice, I went into labor and had him 75 minutes later.

With DS1 I wanted med free if possible (I don't even like taking tylenol) and I had two friends with horrible epidural experiences that I wanted to try and go without if I could. The pain never got so bad for me that I couldn't handle it.I liked being able to walk around and do what I wanted during labor rather than stuck in a bed.

If I had stayed in labor longer with DS2 I would have gotten one. The pain there was much more acute and painful. But if given the choice I'd take 75 minutes start to finish with 3 pushes to 12 hours of labor and 2+ hours of pushing.

[mkemama]

Jan 20, 2014 10:40:10 GMT -5 212 said:

I was more scared of the epidural than the pain. Irrational, but true. As I researched med-free birth, it became my obstacle to conquer. Some people run marathons, climb mountains, etc-- I wanted to conquer med-free childbirth. I wanted an extreme experience in which I tested myself and was really present in a mental and physical struggle.

It was the hardest thing I've ever done and the best decision I've ever made. I gained a lot of self respect and confidence that day.

Ditto 100%! I was scared of the epi & felt it could be a good challenge. Hearing older women say things like "wait & see, you'll be begging for the drugs after 10 minutes!" only made me more motivated to go without. Plus I know several women whose epidurals didn't take so they ended up basically delivering med-free without the freedom. I was also hoping to avoid a c/s and wanted to have as few interventions as possible.

I stayed home for most of labor & it was very manageable except for going through transition on the freeway, that pretty much sucked being trapped in the backseat. Everything at the hospital went so quickly I didn't have time to even want drugs. I arrived at 8 & they barely had time to give me the GBS meds before DD was born.

The feeling afterward is the biggest reason I'm hoping to go med-free with DD2. I seriously felt like the strongest person in the world (and I don't mean that as a slam to anyone who chooses to get meds). Even better was hearing DH brag about how well I did & calling me a superhero. I'm not usually super confident but I've never felt better about myself than just after DD was born.