Natural birth vs. epidural? Pros and cons to both.?
ByOkay I’m 31 weeks pregnant and I’m not opposed to medical drugs during pregnancy at all, however just recently I have been thinking about attempting to have a natural childbirth. What are the pros and cons to both? What do i have to worry abouth an epidural? Thanks!
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4 Comments
March 10th, 2010 at 7:13 pm
I was the same way I’m not against medical drugs but wanted to try natural. Then the contractions came and all that went out the window once I reached 5 cm I couldn’t take it anymore especially being a first time mom most have a long birth. I started contractions around 2 am the night before so didn’t get any sleep at 7 am and only 5 cm I first got another drug which only made me feel high but still hurting. Then I decided on an epidural as soon as I got the epidural they said get some rest I fell asleep at 10 am it was time to push. The only con about the epidural is it’s alot harder to push cause you can’t feel anything. But 2 hrs later they used a suction cup and out my big 8Ib 8ounce little boy came
Everything else about an epidural was a pro I didn’t feel the pain anymore it was alot more relaxing and I was actually able to enjoy the company of family before he came instead of snapping at them in pain when they were trying to make me feel better. I’m on pregnancy #2 and this time it’s not even a choice I’m getting one as soon as they give me the go.
March 10th, 2010 at 7:45 pm
natural..
more painful.. the contractions during the early phases of labor are actually the worst part tho. Once you make it thru those, you’ve made it thru the worst part. Actual delivery itself is more work than anything.. once my baby got down so far, the urge to PUSH far outweighed the pain of contractions. Crowning hurt, but it was over quickly, and the pain was tolerable.
You are able to get up and move around more if you are going natural.. you can also walk around sooner after delivery as well.
You can move around more, use the birthing ball, rocking chair, different positions, to try to get labor and delivery going.
Epidural
less to no pain
you are bedfast once you get the epidural tho, you cant even get up to use the restroom, a catheter is inserted.. this also limits you from trying different positions for delivery.. I believe you are stuck in bed even 24 hours after its removed.
epidural can speed up or slow down delivery.. some women are less distracted by the pain and able to focus more on pushing, however some women cannot feel the contractions, and do not push as effectivly when they have an epidural.
I have heard of women suffering headaches and back aches after the epidural was removed.. I’ve had some people tell me that they have suffered some permanant nerve damage after an epidural as well.
There is always a risk of a reaction to medication.
March 10th, 2010 at 8:36 pm
there is no versus, using the epidural while giving birth vaginally is still a natural birth.
its great if you can go without the epidural and sometimes it doesnt work anyway like with me it wore off after about half an hour.
its still a natural birth if u use it.
it takes about 20 mins to start to work.
i wanted to have a drugs free birth too but once those contractions get going, oh how i begged for it.
i sat in water and used a birthing ball before i got the epidural and nothing seemed to ease it so the miwives keep putting it off sying oh your doing really well, there is no need for it but if you want to get it, id advise to keep asking because they’ll keep putting it off until its too late to get it.
i got mine and soon after it started working, it wore off again and they gave me 3 top ups but it didnt work, very bad.
it was easier to in the end i suppose coz i could feel the urge to push, but if the epidural works(i think it does most of the time) then you cant feel anything.
I had a 3o mins of no pain after the epidural and it was great so if you can get it then i would soo go for it,
anyway good luck whatever way,
my answer is all over the place, hope you understand it.
:)
im in a rush, byebye
March 10th, 2010 at 9:30 pm
the truth is, until you are in active labor and know what your actual pain tolerance is (and trust me, it’s *really, really* painful), you shouldn’t try and decide. in other words, you could decide to go natural but the true decision will be made at that time.
just do your homework now so you have all the facts (search online for things like “epidural risks”), etc., and be prepared to make the decision one way or another once you are in active labor, because, whether you like it or not, that is ultimately when you will end up deciding.
another way to look at it, is would decide ahead of time not to have novocaine for a root canal? seems drastic, but it’s kind of the same thing –> a painful procedure that can be numbed with meds if you so desire, meds that have minimal risk (like an epidural).