I am due in feb, Has anyone had natural childbirth without epidural?

I suffered through 3 days of contractions when i went into preterm labor with my son. I got virtually no pain medication until the 3rd day when they did an emergency c-section. I was counting the minutes until I got the epidural. I can’t imagine going through labor without it.

I had both of my children natural. The contractions hurt but they come and go. Once you are ready to actually give birth you don’t feel the pain anymore.

congratulations

I had one natural, but not by choice, the epidural didn’t have time to work. And the worst pain is when you are pushing the baby out!!!

The contractions are hell. Luckily my labor didnt last very long at all. It was my 2nd child ( I used epidural for the 1st one) and I was in pain for 4 1/2 hrs. 2 of those hours the pain was horrible. Not to scare you or anything. Ppl used to tell me it was the worst pain ever and I didnt believe them until I had my son. And if you are in labor a really long time it’ll be even worse. The contractions rae what hurt and they dont hurt for long, but when they are close together its hard. The birth itself for me was easy cuz I couldnt wait to get the kid out, so I dont think that part is even a big deal I hardly felt it. Good luck!

I wasn’t able to have an epidural so I had my daughter completely natural. If you want to try to have your child natural, good for you, but I wouldn’t close off your options. Make sure your doctor tells you the latest you can have the epidural. I actually wanted an epidural but my pain threshold was so high that I wasn’t in pain until I was dialated to an 8 and it was too late then. The pain is horrific during contractions and labor, although I think that the contractions were almost worse than labor. I only pushed for 11 minutes though so that part went quick. I was in pain for 5 1/2 hours so it was honestly living h*ll! But good for you if you want to try to go natural. It’s absolutely do-able, just don’t be disappointed in yourself if you end up having to have an epidural. I think the pain is 10 times worse than most women imagine. Good luck to you and your little babe!

my wife was gonna try this on the second child we had but she could not stand the pain to go without it.

she said the shot in the back is nothing compaired to the pain without it

My wife is a RN and went with out it on our first, and it was a long painful procedure. The next two she had epidurals and both procedures were more enjoyable than the first. There are is minimal risk to you or your baby with the epidural. You should definitely consider it.

My daughter i had no epidural… it was torturous, gruelling and miserable. There are basically no words to describe the pain. When I went into labor with my son, I got the Epidural… and it was so much better. I was actually aware of what was going on around me, I was able to participate in the delivery and labor without screaming and thinking only of pain. To each his own… I am glad I have gone through both ways because I can firmly say, if I was to do it over again, I would do it WITH the epidural… good luck!

I don’t think you are insane. I had two children with no epidural either time. It is hard to say which is more painful the contraction or the actual birth. I’d probably say the actual birth. My first child was induced and I didn’t notice the contractions for a long time even though I could see on the monitor that I was having them. It was after they broke my water that I really felt the contractions, but that was about 2 hours before she was born and I only pushed two or three times and then she was born. It hurt, but it wasn’t unbearable. With my second, my water broke before I felt any contractions and then my son was born an hour and forty-five minutes later. I only pushed two or three times that time too.

Don’t listen to what your friends say. I wouldn’t rule out the epidural. But both of my deliveries were pretty easy, and I don’t think the epidural was necessary. I was more afraid of having the epidural than I was of having the baby. Just do what feels right to you. Tell your doctor you aren’t planning to have one, but if you have a long hard labor then don’t be ashamed to change your mind.

I was lucky enough to have a virtually pain-free experience, with no drugs. I’d say the contractions are the most uncomfortable.

The key is to stay relaxed. It helped me to start at the top of my body and work my way down. I breathed deeply and as I exhaled, I relaxed my head. On the next exhale, my jaw. My shoulders . . . arms . . . chest . . . back . . . legs . . . feet. Repeat as needed. As long as you stay relaxed and move when you feel like it, labor contractions are totally manageable.

Transition really hurts and there’s no way around it. It won’t last long, so just stay as relaxed as possible. I personally had pain during my baby’s birth because I was told to lay on my back and I did it. I should have stayed put in the spa tub! I believe that if I had found a better position, pushing would not have hurt so badly. Plus, they kept telling me to push for a ten count while holding my breath. That’s not necessary. I tried to do my own thing, but I let them pressure me into doing it their way a little.

What I’m saying is, it’s important for you to learn how to listen to your body. There are several great books out there. Here are two that helped me a great deal:

Birthing From Within (author?)
The Birth Book by Martha Sears

I had an epidural with my first baby, and it went well, but I hated the extra recovery time I had after the birth.

With my second baby, I just used nitrous oxide (laughing gas) during the bad contractions. It was certainly more painful, but it was also great to be able to get up by myself minutes after the birth.

With my third child I did it totally natural, and again, was able to deal with the pain, and then get up and take of of myself and the baby. No long hours trapped in a bed.

It is an indiviual choice, for sure, but I much preferred the birth experiences without the epidural.

I am due in Feb as well with my first. I am going to try all natural. My grandmother had an epidural with her last and still can’t feel two of her toes on her right foot, that was 43 years ago but still kinda freaked me out. Also my mom had both her children natural me at 7lbs, 6oz and 47 and a half hours of labor and my brother at 9lbs, 11 oz and 11 hours of labor. I keep looking at it that if she can do it, I can do it.