I didnt think I would be confused about this because I thought “heck yes, im gonna want drugs” but now I am having second thoughts about it. How many ladies did natural birth without drugs? And considering the fact that I will most likely be induced, would you suggest doing it without drugs? I have been told that induced contractions are worst than natural ones. Any advice?
I was doing “great” without the epidermal till I got a really big contraction that made me change my mind … fast! I was able to get it within 20 minutes or so (they had to call in the anesthesiologist … the wait is not cool!) and it was so much better to focus on doing what they wanted me to do after that. I wish I was able to finish off delivery but I ended up with a c section in the end.
Um…yeah…this is why I’m in the “just say yes to drugs” program. 
that, and I think my placenta is anterior, so I’m bracing for back labor. All in all, the medical staff tell me that lower distress to mama means lower distress to baby, so I like the idea that me taking care of myself and my pain mgmt is a favor to this little one on her entry into the world.
I was induced & went pain med free. My induction took two rounds to take affect. By the 2nd round I went into active labor. I did ask for an epidural but my labor went so fast that I didn’t have time for one. Once labor started for me it was over in less than 5 hours.
It can be done. Even if your labor isn’t fast like mine was. I know of plenty of women who have been induced and had pain med-free births.
I will say that contractions aren’t stronger they just come on faster. The medicine used, pitocin, is what makes them come on faster. Good luck!
Hey what is your due date again?
10.20.10 if we wait that long.
I had a similar experience as Megzway. Looking back I wouldn’t do it differently. I think women get into trouble when they walk in the door and take the epidural in early labour. I’ve quite a few friends who’ve taken the induction and epidural the same time, or gotten the epidural when they’re three centimetres and they all ended up with C-sections because they didn’t progress in labour.
Hmmm… Interesting. This is a lot to think about. When baby sent me to the hospital last week they asked me about drugs just in case and I hesitated for a while then ultimately said yes but that just let me know that I should think about it more. Thanks for the advice ladies!
I believe our bodies are capable of doing this stuff naturally (most of the time, anyway), but I’m also a huge freaking wimp when it comes to pain. Provided everything goes smoothly, my plan is to labor naturally as long as I can stand it, but to accept an epidural when either the pain too much, or when it’s almost time to push (the doctor will have to help judge that one, because you can miss the opportunity for an epidural if you’re too close to pushing).
From what I understand, the longer you go without intervention the less likely you are to have a “domino effect” of interventions. It hurts so you ask for an epidural, that weakens contractions and slows things down so they give you pitocin to hurry things along, the pit gets REALLY bad so they up the epidural and might even end up giving you more pit to compensate if things slow down again, etc. If that epidural makes things go too slow, they may pressure you into a C-section because “long labors are hard on babies.” But the pitocin causes such strong contractions that the baby can be put under a ton of stress, which might also be justification to push for that C-section.
That said, I don’t think any woman should ever feel guilty accepting or asking for intervention. Sometimes it’s absolutely the safest option, and sometimes it just does you a world of good. I had a friend who was determined to go as natural as possible, but she ended up having to lie on her back from the moment she got into the hospital because they had to constantly monitor the baby’s heartbeat, and that’s a miserable position for labor. It exhausted her, and she was absolutely too tired to be functional until she got enough pain relief to catch a few winks. Then, she was back in the game. It was the right choice for her.
Thanks for sharing your stories ladies. I think I will first opt for no meds and see how things go. I guess I can at least TRY to do it naturally… I have three more weeks until they induce so I will let you ladies know how things go
I was induced, had to do 2 rounds as well. I went to 6 cm without pain meds, but opted for the epidural after that. Because I was on pitocin as part of the induction process, the contractions were very regular about every 2 min. but I wasn’t dialating. I didn’t see the point of being in pain for another 4+ hours while waiting for my cervix to fully dialate.
I ended up having a c-section because I never dialated beyond 8 cm. Keep your options open. My only recommendation is that if you think you’ll want an epidural then you need to decide that before it gets really painful. It’ll be a 20 min wait for the anesthesiologist, plus another 15 minutes for the epidural to kick in.
Good advice. I will keep that in mind… two weeks left to go…possibly sooner. Wish me and baby boy luck!