Is natural childbirth better for mom and baby or are epidurals okay?
ByMy husband and I have started trying to get pregnant and I am curious as what to do once we are. I’ve heard horrible things about epidurals as well as how painful natural childbirth is. Most of my family members mom, sister, cousins have given birth naturally and would balk at the idea of having an epidural, however I can’t handle pain and the thought of natural childbirth scares me. I’ve always been a little scared to have a baby only because of the pain, which I know is selfish but my husband and I are ready now. So what should I expect? Is it gonna be the worst pain I can imagine? How long does all the “pushing” last? I’m so new to the whole pregnancy thing and I could use all the advice I can get. I don’t know if being a bit older than most pregnant people will help or hinder me, as I’m 31 years old I’ll be 32+ once we would have a baby.
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11 Comments
February 16th, 2010 at 11:28 am
i am 22 yrs old and i had a natural child birth ! from day one i planned on it and that’s what gave me strength my husband was with me anyway i wanted to do it which also helped. the pain is feels like extremely bad period craps! nothing else really hurts . but i just wanted to say to be able to feel what they are telling you to do and when your baby actually comes out is the best feeling in the world and very very very worth it!!!
February 16th, 2010 at 11:49 am
If you have a lot of questions regarding pregnancy, you should consider buying a pregnancy book. I had a book called “Your Pregnancy Week by Week” during my last pregnancy and it answered all of my questions.
Anyway, epidurals can cause problems for the mother (usually back pain after wards), but it isn’t very common. Epidurals do not cause problems for the baby. I had an epidural with both of my sons and we’re fine.
The pain of labor is pretty much the worst pain you can imagine. If you’re unsure as to whether or not you want an epidural, you can always wait and see once you’re actually in labor. If the pain gets too bad, you can get one, if you can handle it then don’t.
The pushing itself can last a long time or, in my case only 10-15 minutes. Every labor is different. There is no way to tell for sure how it will be for you.
All I can tell you is that it’s worth it. You won’t care about the pain you went through with labor and delivery once you’re holding your sweet baby in your arms.
Good luck with conceiving!
February 16th, 2010 at 12:17 pm
epidurals do not harm mommy or baby, they are perfictly safe for everyone involved. look at it this way, you can either be in immense pain or not, you can either feel your wahoo stretch to the size of a watermellon or not lol. i didn’t feel the epidural at all, i think i may have been in the middle of a contraction wilt they were putting it in tho. the actual pushing part normally lasts about 45 mins if everything goes well.the decision is yours to make nobody elses ok sweetie, whatever you decide will be fine. take care and congrads.
February 16th, 2010 at 12:26 pm
Well I hear that if you get a good doc putting the epideral in its good, but personally I did natural childbirth, and then they gave me some pain meds through my iv with my second. I was only 16 when I had my first and went natural, so really its what you are comfortable with. Another thing to think about is, think when epiderals werent available, women had to go natural. The pushing will last as long as it takes, sorry i cant be more precise, because every woman is different. I suggest getting the book what to expect when expecting. It really clued me into what was going on with my body while I was pregnant.
February 16th, 2010 at 12:35 pm
Natural child birth is better on both mon and baby. As a matter of fact, nurses in the pediatric unit know which babies have been born without medication as they come to this world alert and awoke, rather than limp and sluggish due to the aftermath of pain killers.
I did the epidural with my first child and it alll went wrong after that. Of course, not all experiences are like mine, but I will not be using pain killers with my seocnd child that I will bedelivering soon. Epidurals make labor stall and they will have to give you pitocin and you may end up having a c-section. My epidural only numbed half of my body and altered my heart rate and my baby’s. I was on oxigen, fluids andall sorts of drugs and the baby was in distress. It was an awful experience and I will not do that ever again.
Good luck
February 16th, 2010 at 1:20 pm
I had my daughter naturally and considering what your body is going through it is not painful. It all depends on how you handle it. I just breathed, relaxed and waited for the baby. I had my gallbladder out and honestly my gall bladder attacks hurt much worse than labor ever did. The screaming and getting angry is what makes your body tense and the pain increase. Natural childbirth is faster than those with epidurals. Epidurals are for the most part safe. I had my son via c-section and I honestly thought that was more painful even with the epidural because you could feel them pushing and pulling on everything. How long it lasts just depends on how fast your labor goes. Without an epidural they say you are able to feel better when you need to push. I pushed for about 3 minutes. When I had my epidural for the c-section I went numb immediately and I have no idea how I would have been able to push a baby out in that condition.
February 16th, 2010 at 1:54 pm
Even though doctors will tell you the baby gets none of the anesthetic, that is not true. There are far more episodes of respiratory distress in babies where their moms used epidurals than those who went natural. Epidurals also increase rates of failure to progress which results in higher rates of c-sections. There are also a lot of women who have had long term back pain as a result of having an epidural.
It’s up to you. If you know the risks and are willing to accept that you may be one of the unlucky ones, go for the epidural. I am all for natural birth, but I see no reason to bludgeon anybody about it.
I don’t even have a choice as I will have to have a c-section in my next pregnancy. I had to have a c-section the first time and ended up with gen. anethesia because the epidural didn’t take. I had to stay in the hospital for a week due to complications (including a headache worse than the 23 hours of labor) from the spinal that didn’t work.
February 16th, 2010 at 1:58 pm
I have to start this by saying that if you push a baby out of your vagina it IS a natural birth epidural or not! A c-section is not natural! I have heard all the horrible stories about the epidurals too, but in my opinion, based on my experience with my first baby having an epidural, this was the best invention ever created. For me, it took ALL my pain away. I was able to relax during labor without worrying about the pain, and I was able to enjoy my labor. Pain is not enjoyable! I was even able to pull the baby out and onto my stomach- and I believe that if I had not had the epidural I would not have wanted to do that because I would only have been thinking about the pain. I only pushed 4 times with my first even though I could not feel anything down there. Books and doctors have to tell you the possible risks of having an epidural, but there are risks with absolutely anything you take, even tylenol has risks. I am a huge advocate for epidurals because I had a wonderful experience with one, but others will tell you that it is not a good idea. Those are the people who had a bad experience. People in this pregnancy section, I have noticed, seem to be against epidurals, and I WILL get thumbs downs for my answer because I am talking about how wonderful they are, but this is what I have to say to those people… I am sorry that they had a bad experience and were not able to experience a pain free birth.
February 16th, 2010 at 2:50 pm
My mom had 4 natural births and with her last child she did the epidural. She swears that it was the best thing ever and should have done it with all of us. As for child birth pain, I do not know and I am terrified too. My mom wants me to get an epidural because I have no pain tolerance either. As for your mom, sister, and cousins it is your experience do it the way you want it. Maybe ask your doctor about different pain meds they offer. Also I’ve heard only good things about hypnobirthing maybe look it up on youtube or you can buy the book I’ve heard it comes with a CD.
February 16th, 2010 at 3:15 pm
I am just like you. I was totally scared of epidurals and the pain of natural childbirth. I signed up for a Bradley Method natural birth class and learned a lot. Having and epidural can actually hinder the pushing process because you cant feel your body’s natural reactions and when it would feel natural to push which would be the most optimal time to work with your body to get the baby out. This is why a lot of times epidural patients can end up with C-Sections because they can’t work with their bodies to help the baby move down and progress out like it should. Also I have heard from experienced mothers that the contractions are bearable and pushing the baby out does not hurt like you would think it should. They actually have told me that the worst part is “transistion” where you dilate the last centimeter or two and get ready to push. After that when you are ready to push the pushing actually feels good and serves as a sort of pain reliever if you will. I am due in a couple of weeks so I will find out for myself but this is just what I have learned and heard from others. Oh and also I have talked to mothers that have had natural and eipidural births and the majority of them say they prefer the natural becuase it is not too bad and it is easier to recover from and you dont feel as bad after the baby is born. Good Luck
February 16th, 2010 at 3:20 pm
Each person and each pregnancy is different. It is a personal decision. Talk to your doctor about all of your options and then do what is right for you. I gave birth to two children without an epidural either time. I was afraid of having an epidural and I didn’t find childbirth to be unbearable. I only pushed 2 or 3 times with each of my kids, but I have known others who pushed anywhere from an hour to three hours. It really depends on the person. Since most of your family has gone natural with no problems then I think that the odds are good that you will be able to also. My mom had fairly easy labor and delivery and so did I and two of my sisters. There are other options for pain relief besides epidural. With my first child I did have Stadol which is a muscle relaxant not a pain killer. It doesn’t numb you, but it does help you relax. Personally I prefered the second delivery where I had no drugs at all. I felt that the recovery was easier. But that may have just been because it was my second child and I knew more of what to expect. Try not to listen to the horror stories some people will tell you. Just talk to your doctor and get all the information about the different options. If you decide to have an epidural it is safe for your baby, but as with every drug there can be side effects. And try not to worry about the childbirth too much. I think that your attitude is one of the most important things. If you expect the worst then that is usually what you get, but if you have a positive attitude it definitley will help.