Epidural or Drug Free Delivery?

S

SophieHK

Registered User
Hello ladies,
Sorry if this has been discussed before, I have checked many threads but cannot find the answers I am looking for..
I will delliver my 1st baby in September in Adventist, I'm so nervous about the delivery process and I cannot decide between epidural or drug free delivery. Please advise me, tell me more about your experiences!!
I am with Dc Joe Chan and he seems to think epidural is great but I think I can take it with no medication. Is it really sooooo painful without epidural?
I also heard about the hypnobirthing but I'm not quite sure what that means exactly.
I hope you can help me out by sharing your experiences. Thanks in advance!
Sophie
 
Every woman is so different... so is the pain. Some delivery pain can be in the lower back, some around the belly, some higher in the back... Your delivery can happen so fast that you won't have time for the epidural, also it can last for hours and hours and you won't be able to endure it anymore !... That's my opinion, but I think you'll be able to decide only when it happens, and see what you are able to endure or not.
I had an epidural after a few contractions, happy to know how it felt, but not sure it's worth being in pain for too long, and the epidural effects stopped half an hour before the birth, so I could really push and feel my baby coming down, which was perfect !
About the hypnobirthing, didn't do it personally, but a few friends who did it didn't really have time to "practise" at the last moment... so I have no good examples there.
Good luck, and congratulations ! :D
 
really, i would suggest not "deciding" until you are in the situation. you have no idea what to expect (especially since this is your first) and no one can help or know what it feels like FOR YOU. i would keep an open mind about all things. sure, think about your preferences, but keep an open mind as anything can happen.

personally, i would want all the drugs they could give me without doing the baby any harm. as it was though, i had two c-sections. the first was an emergency and necessary as i had developed pre-eclampsia. the second was not an emergency but due to other complications it was necessary for me to be under general anesthesia (completely asleep).

i have heard stories of women who "decide" what they want and are so upset when it doesn't happen for them that they don't bond with the baby because they feel like a failure.
 
Hi SophieHK,
I have also been thinking about this issue (I am due in 4 weeks). For my first baby I had an elective c-section so had no pain at all so can't help you from experience sorry!

To help me understand the options I went to see one of the staff at Annerley (I will PM you with her name). She was lovely and explained all of the pain relief options to me. I would highly recommend an appointment with her. The best piece of advice she gave me was that I should understand my options but not make a decision before time. She suggested that I just see how I go and not have any preconcieved ideas. She pointed out that there are so many different experiences of pain during childbirth. Some women find that it is not that bad (and are lucky to have quick labours) and some women labour for a long time and find it very painful. You will only be able to decide if you want pain relief once you are in the situation.

For my part I will probably end up doing what Frenchy did. For me the ideal is not to have any pain during most of labour but to taper the epi off near the end so that I can feel more (and hopefully push more effectively).

If you want to know about Hypnobirthing, Annerley offer courses. A friend of mine did it and gave birth with no pain relief. She found the whole thing to be a very positive experience (although she said it did hurt and it was her third vaginal birth!).

I think that the key is to be flexible so that you won't be disappointed if things don't go as planned. In the end the aim is to have a healthy baby no matter what the birth experience is!
 
Hi, I agree with everyone above - each person is different and has varying pain thresholds and labours.

For me, I have had 2 natural deliveries each with an epidural - I can look back on both as pretty positive birth experiences and whilst not entirely pain free, the drugs made it bearable (I was induced for one, had some contractions, got the pain relief and let it taper off for pushing. The second I went into labour naturally, stayed at home managing the contractions and then had an epidural asap on arrival at the hospital.

Again for me, I would the pain was pretty bad and I couldn't imagine doing it with nothing...

My one condition was no pethedine or anything that would dull my senses as I wanted to be fully aware of what was going on.
 
I agree with Carang about not deciding what to do until you are in the situation. I decided what I wanted and then everything completely changed once I was in labour. I ended up having to be induced and that brought contractions on strong and hard and quite frankly, I just couldn`t take it. I ended up having a c-section.
I am so impressed with the women who have had a drug free birth because I don`t think I could have done it, and from my first experience with that pain, there`s no chance that I will try to have a drug free birth for my next one.
The one complaint I had for the epidural was that it was tooooo short! I started to feel the pain again after only 2-3 hrs. The needle in the spine, which totally put me off wanting an epi, was just fine and interesting feeling, though the contraction that came during it was not.
It`s amazing that women can make birth plans at all, hehe. My birth was the complete opposite from what I had envisioned and wanted. But at the end of the day, as long as you get a healthy baby from it, it doesn`t really matter how it goes about.
 
Hi SophieHK,
I had a drug free delivery. Exactly per my birth plan. It happens- its not that uncommon, actually. You know how you see only wild/ serious cases stories on Baby/ Delivery Stories on Home and health channels? Normal, vaginal, drug free deliveries never make the cut because they are, frankly.. boring!

I think I was lucky in a lot of ways- I had no complications, I also had a doc who would not resort to c-sec at any road bump. If she said, time to have c-sec, I know she means it because there is no other way the baby is going to come out. She did suggest I do epidural though. I was quite adamant that I could not decide before anything actually happens. I had no sense of the pain anyway, so why not take it as it comes.

I also had a lot of support- from the midwives who encouraged me while making sure I was open to whatever circumstance I was presented with; to my husband who was such a fantastic labour coach. pressing my back, making sure I eat, making sure I breathe (I got really upset at one point and told, no, yelled at him to stop telling me to breathe!:) I was able to stay at home with him for almost all night and when I reached the hospital, I was ready for an epidural but also 8 cm dilated!! 2.5 hours later, I had this little person bawling in my hands.

Like Cara said, don't feel disappointed if it does not go the way you thought about it. the baby is what matters. But if you do do it drug free .... it is quite an incredible journey! I didn't for a sec feel like a superwoman, just really humbled by the birth of this amazing life you are holding on your chest. And although I respect the number of lives modern medicine saves- there is something to be said about doing it as nature intended it. (And btw, this is coming from a person who had to do ivf twice- so believe me when I say medicine does marvelous things)

First rule of thumb for a natural ie drug free birth is- don't be scared. There is nothing to be scared about. Its not going to last forever.
Second is to breathe.
Third is to breathe.
Fourth and fifth and sixth.... till tenth point is to breathe. breathing relaxes you. It relaxes your cervix. The faster you can relax, faster your dilation will be! Also see if you can have a bath to sit in. I was fully dilated within an hour of sitting in warm water.

Pm me if you would like to chat. Goodluck!
 
Btw, within hours of delivering, my recollection of the labour faded away. If you asked me what it was like, I won't be able to tell you. Women would never have 2nd, 3rd or 4th babies if they ever remembered the pain.
 
I had two drug free natural delivery births which was exactly what I wanted. However I do agree with other posters that although most people have an "ideal", sometimes there are emergencies in which c-sections have to be performed. When choosing to have a drug-free birth, its a matter of a really strong mind! lol Seriously, its a choice you have to make from deep within and just know that this is not going to last forever though there may be times during labour you think it is! Its a very personal choice however and if that's what you wish to do - then just have that as your first choice, do lots of research on what your second choice would be, understand what will happen if you must have an emergency c-section and that way, hopefully, you will not feel let down if you don't have your first choice birth.

Know too that if you have a drug-free birth, your recovery time (and the baby's) is much quicker.

Best of luck with your choices and your birth.
 
If you are not sure what you want then the best thing to do is don't decide until you are in labour.
You can always ask for pain relief if you need it.

I've had 2 drug free births and for me, it was very easy and I wouldn't do it any other way.

I did the Hypnobirthing course before the birth of my first son and the technique was very successful.
I'm one of those weird people who actually say that they enjoyed giving birth.
 
not weird matty - i enjoyed it too..:) or maybe i'm weird too ;-) and will do it again (hopefully) exactly the same way
 
Hello, my first was delivered with an epidural, the second without (but not by choice as my second baby came too fast). The recovery time for both myself and the babies was the same. I would recommend an epidural birth, definately less painful. Maybe I am not as strong as some of the others mums, maybe I have a lower pain threshhold - but if I had another baby I would still choose an epidural. You dont have to choose an epidural immediately, just have it as an option in case you find the pain too difficult. You will know when then it is. Also just be sure that your dilation is monitored as you can get to the point where an epidural is not an option, i.e. I was too dilated. When you go into labour to be honest you just get on with it and deal with what comes along in the best way you can. Good luck, try not to worry- the memory of labour fades fast when that new baby is on your arms.
 
i had a drug-free first labour and like some other weirdos really enjoyed giving birth that time :o)
second time around baby was much bigger and had the cord around his neck. the back pain was excruciating. I was 8cm dilated and the baby wasn't even engaged!! i asked for a single low-dose epidural to gather my strength.
it was the best decision i ever made. it only lasted around 30-45mins and had worn off completely by the pushing stage.
If i am lucky enough to have a 3rd baby I will be aiming for 100% drug free but like last time i'll be prepared to flex my plans given the situation at the time.

child birth for most women really isn't that bad and i think what we often forget is that women are designed to have babies! have faith in yourself and you will make the right decision for you at the time.
 
sorry to pipe in again, but when I was in labour, I was so surprised that women were designed to have babies. the pain was just terrible. Of course you read all about it, and for me, I really wanted to do it naturally for the baby. But I had little choice - water broke, was bed ridden so I couldn`t help progress my labour, then too much time passed so I was induced and then the pain really started, I was crying for an epidural when I was no where near having the baby, whose head was stuck in the canal and whose heart wasn`t faring well with all the contractions. The doctor did everything she could as she wanted to avoid a c-section but in the end, I had no choice and to be honest, at that point I was like OK!!!!
So to all the ladies here who have had drug free natural births, even a few times over, I applaud you for being so strong. And I envy you that your birth went at least somewhat according to plan.
At one point I had an IV in each arm, an epidural from my back, fetal monitoring from my belly, a cathetor from you know where, and oxygen from my nose. It was very humbling.
But I know for SURE next time, if I can even have a VBAC, I will be booking that epidural in advance!
 
I agree with other posters that is is okay to not know what you want to do, you have to make a decision beforehand. Each labor can be so different. I was induced with oxytocin for my first and had the epidural. From the start of the induction until birth was about 36 hours.There were no breaks at all between contractions, one on top of the other and I couldn't cope, this is because of the oxytocin. I would highly recomend not haveing an induction unless absolutly medically necessary. I had one because the baby was very small and ther were worries he had IUGR, which turned out to be wrong, he was very healthy, small, 5 lbs 14oz, but still within the normal range. I had the epidural at 7 cm. There were no complications related to the epidural. It was turned down for pushing and I could tell when to push.

For my second I really did not want to have the epidural. It was really important to me to have that sense of acomplishment of ding it myself. My labor was much quicker, about 4.5 hours, I had no oxytocin, I only pushed 15 minutes.The pushing was completely differnt than with the epidural. I had thought that I could feel lots with the epidural, as I could tell when to push, and it was actually a lttle painful, so I thought I really was doing it on my own, but after having no epidural, I realize now how numb I still was. The feeling of pushing with no epidural is amazing, it is so primal, your body takes over completely. It is painful, but much less so than transition. I was able to be in a tub in the hospital, this make the contractions much more bearable, also had a doula. It was a perfect birth! I was so happy after, it was an amazing feeling and accomplishment and I would never do an epidural again!

With a drug free birth, you need to get into a zone and deal with one contraction at a time
 
I have 2 friends who used epi, and now they have ended up with terrible back pain. So, such side affect, do exist........??
 
Never heard of such side effects.... I had no episiotomy (natural tear, which healed very quickly), and beside some back problems, which was more due to my position when Bf, of carrying the baby...
Would be interesting to know if there is any link between the 2.
 
I think she meant "epi" as in epidural and not episiotomy. In any case, I have also heard that some people do get back pain after epidural, which was the reason I chose not to have epidural. Having suffered back problems from teens, I decided if there were truth to it, it'd just be opening another can of worms. In any case, at least for me, labour pains were bearable and as I told my husband, I found it better than the pain from slipped disc. haha.

Totally agree that if you really feel strongly about going without epidural, your mindset has to be "this would not last forever" and breathe! BTW, I used TENS machine for my 2nd and found it to be really good.
 
That is such a personal decision! I had my first child with the epidura and was planning a drug free birth for my second, but she was breech and I had to have a c-section. The epidural I had with my first was not that great for me. In retrospect, it slowed my labor down, kept me on my back which is not an optimal position for labor and delivery, and may even have kept my girl from turning from her sunnyside up position. It also stopped working on one side and needed to be redone, which was stressful.

I firmly believe all women should be prepared for the possibility of no epidural, as it may not work or there may not be time, so why not practice/study techniques for managing contractions without drugs?

I highly recommend doing some reading about natural birth if you are interested at all - I really enjoyed "Birthing from Within" and the Mongan "Hypnobirthing" books. I also definitely recommend talking to the midwives at Annerley. I was taking the Hypnobirthing class and it even helped me get through my c-section - obviously I had drugs for that but the techniques helped me feel relaxed throughout the surgery and made my daughter's surgical birth a much more joyful experience.

I'm done with my books and done having kids so if you would like to get the books from me I'd be happy to pass them on.
 
AndreaY, thanks for helpingme clarify. Yes, I meant epidural!

I am also considering drug-free delivery, but am sooooooo scared!! I even freak out when I get normal injections, so how am I going to survive this 10, 20 or even 30 hours pain?!?!?

BTW, what's this TENS machine pls??? (Sorry, as I'm just expecting my first one in July, I don't have much knowledge/experience with all this!!)
 
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