I'm so sick of women who give birth w/o any drugs thinking that they have some super powers or something. I don't know how many episodes of ABS I've seen with first time moms starting out saying I'm going all natural then when they realize how much it hurts they cave. Honestly there is nothing wrong with having drugs.
With my first child I knew I wanted all the drugs the doctors would allow me to have. I first got IV meds then at around 5 or 6 cent. I was ready from my epi. Yeah the needle scared the Sh** out of me but it's more than a fair trade for labor pains.
In fact because I had an epi I was able to relax and joke around with the nurses and my family members and allow my body to do it's job, and before I knew it I woke up and felt a whole lotta pressure. Then it was time for me to push and out she came only 3 pushes later.
My labor was only 7 hours from start to finish and I know if I had of felt all that pain it would have lasted much much longer.
If you feel that somehow you are a better parent because you had no drugs, you need a reality check, really. In fact I find it kinda stupid that you would volunteer to go through all that pain when you don't have to. The simple fact that us women are capable of birthing a living human being make our sex the stronger one, not your ability to handle pain.
How you love and teach your child is all that matters. Our children are not going to remember the day they came into the world let alone how.

AMEN!!!

I agree with much of what you say, but I COMPLETELY disagree that it's "stupid" to not want drugs.

There are very real risks to using pain medications during labour. I fail to see how it it is stupid to want to eliminate those risks. Rather, I think it's "stupid" to just take whatever is offered to you without any idea of how they might affect you and your baby.

I don't think most women think they are "better mothers" because they have natural births. Women who truly understand childbirth know that there are MANY factors that affect a woman's experience of birth, many of which are beyond her control.

I ended up with an epidural after 49 hours of labour. I wasn't "stupid" for refusing pain medication for those 49 hours. I'm also no less of a woman, or a mother, for eventually deciding that I needed to have an epidural.


I have learned SO much about birth in the past couple of years, and I am truly, truly looking forward to my future labours. I anticipate NOT needing any pain meds because I have released my anxieties about labour, and understand so much MORE about how to birth a baby. BUT, I also know that if my baby is in a horrible position and I can't change it, then it will probably be very painful. If I have to get pain meds again, then so be it. But, it's certainly not going to be my first choice.

I agree that there is nothing wrong with having pain medication if a person chooses to do so, but I also believe that it is very commendable of a person to deliver without any meds. I don't believe that a woman would lay there having labor pains thinking to herself..well I'm gonna do this without meds so that I can be "better" than someone else. I would think that people who deliver without drugs are thinking mainly about the safety of their baby. It would have been my choice to deliver without meds, but I had twins...and although they were born vaginally they still had to try and rotate the second twin because she was breech. I suppose that still could have been done w/o drugs, but it would have been VERY painful, and I wanted to be able to keep my composure and let them do what they needed to do so that she could be born safely. There are pros and cons to both sides of it. I had my epidural and both my girls were wide awake after their birth...even though I've heard that medicated babies are less alert and less likely to nurse right away. Don't know how true that is but that's what I hear. I do believe though that mothers who choose non-medicated deliveries do deserve a little credit...just for the simple fact that they are willing to put themselves through that pain... to not take any chances and ensure their baby be born without anything unhealthy/unnatural in their tiny little bodies.

Okay you know what I really do need to respond to your post Savannah, first of all women who don't use pain meds during labor are not being pushed into the labor ward repeating to themselves "I am super mom", 2nd it is a given right as a mom to be to choose that option to have a natural birth, yes a natural birth is a wonderful thing, as a mother to have such an attitude towards another mother because she wants to have a natural birth is just wrong. I commend those women for trying, and any other women out there who does try, stupidity isn't an option when you are in labor, but it seems to me that ignorance is an option when it comes to this topic huh?

As a mother of three boys, I am lucky to say that I have had it both ways. My first child had to be delivered by C-section. After pushing for four hours, it was decided to take him C-section. My second child was also a long labor. I opted to have an intrathecal, which is not as effective as an epidural. When it came time to push, my contractions were too short to get any good pushing in. So they had to give me something to stimulate my contractions. My third child came so fast, there was no time for pain medications. All birthing experiences are different. I commend women who want to have a natural birth, although I do not think less of them if they decide to go with pain management. I think all women should at least try to go natural. Just like I think all women should try to breast feed. I don't think that natural childbirth is a wonderful thing. Nothing about childbirth is wonderful, except what results from childbirth. Especially when you have an uneventful childbirth. With my third child, I had a retained placenta. Not only did I have him naturally, after the doctor stitched me up, he had to reach inside me up to his elbow and pull out the placenta. Boy, did I scream. I think I was more scared than anything. Although, the nurses said that usually when they have a retained placenta, they have to perform surgery. I think that a woman who orders a C-section or epidural before giving birth specifically to avoid pain is weak. The word "mother" is something that a woman should have to earn.

geez guys! Can we stop with all the name calling! NO you are NOT "stupid" for going natural and NO you are NOT "weak" for wanting to get pain meds asap. Everyone's birth plan is different and just because someone's birth plan is different from your own does NOT make it wrong. When I have my 1st born (I'm trying for my 1st now) I plan on getting an epidural as soon as I am able because that is what is right for me. No one will win this agrument about which way to giving birth is better because it's a matter of opinion and it's a matter of what is right for the women in labor and her baby.

My only initial comment is to 3littlemen

An unfortunate inference of you last couple of statements, would be that those who have adopted children are not true mothers and that is a shame if that is how you feel.

I personally believe that what a woman goes through with or without pain medications in a labour/delivery room is their own business and not for anyone else to judge.

IMO so many women on ABS and irl end up giving in to the epidural because most of them do not prepare themselves for labor, I know I didn't w/ my first. But w/ my 2nd, I found a FREE doula, trained my friends on how to give me massage, counter pressure and support in labor. I had a drug free, vaginal homebirth and I wouldn't have it any other way.

I will never birth in a hosp. again unless it is a true emergency.

I know that this is long, but I am reading over the debates of natural vs. drugged labor. And it saddens me to read that some on these boards think that there is no risk. So I listed all the clinically proven risks. These are real, so please read on and choose your next birth with an educated choice. I am not saying drug free, just educated.

Will require an I.V. Bag of fluids to be given prior to receiving the epidural.

Will require the blood pressure cuff to tighten on your arm every 15 minutes or less.

Will require a urinary catheter because you may not be able to urinate with the epidural. The catheter may increase my risk of bladder or urinary tract infection, require antibiotics, which may cause you to have yeast infections and cause your baby to have thrush.

Will severely restrict your mobility during labor.
Will severely limit the positions in which you can push.

May increase to possibility of a vacuum or forceps delivery if you are unable to effectively push the baby out.

May increase the possibility of an episiotomies because the I.V. may cause your perineum to become engorged and therefore not able to stretch to allow the baby to be delivered easily.

May increase the possibility of a cesarean surgery instead of a vaginal birth.

May increase the incidence of chronic backache.
If done to high of a dose, may cause you to feel as if you are not able to breathe.

May lower your blood pressure, possibly requiring additional medical interventions.

May slow down or stall contractions, especially if given before 5 cm dilation, thereby requiring medical interventions (Pitocin or cesarean.

May add an hour or more to pushing stage.

May provide uneven or incomplete pain relief.

May cause extreme itching, requiring additional medical intervention which, in turn, may cause nausea and dizziness.

May cause or increase nausea, vomiting and shivering.

May increase your risk of infection (at site of application and from the subsequent and frequent vaginal exams).

May cause an allergic reation.

May cause spinal headache or spinal fluid leaks, requiring additional medical interventions after the birth.

Will deprive you of the natural production of endorphins, which reduces the response associated with pleasure and joy.

Will deprive you of the sense of mastery over labor and feeling of accomplishment.

Will deprive your baby of your natural production of endorphins that help your baby cope with pain of the contractions.

May cause disturbances of the fetal heart rate.

May cause maternal fever, also called epidural fever which may require additional medical intervention.

May cause decreased muscle strength and tone in the first hours of your baby’s life.

May decrease maternal/infant bonding.

May increase breastfeeding difficulties.
I know that this is long, but I am reading over the debates of natural vs. drugged labor. And it saddens me to read that some on these boards think that there is no risk. So I listed all the clinically proven risks. These are real, so please read on and choose your next birth with an educated choice. I am not saying drug free, just educated.

I posted a true factual list of risk from the epidural. I hope it will come up soon. It has be be approved. With all this talk, I thought it would be some useful information to help you decide which way you would want to go.

THANK YOU SO MUCH for posting the facts about epidurals. I just watched an episode of A Baby Story and it just makes me crazy how casually women are handed these dangerous drugs. It's not a matter of who is better for not using drugs, it's a matter of protecting ourselves and our babies against risks and unneccesary c-sections. Let's get educated, women, and take back our right to birth without intervention!

I've been wondering if the reason some of these labors are difficult and end in c-sections is because they're trying to rush things too much. That's just me speculating but I have to wonder if there's some truth to that. When I finally get the chance to have a child, I do not want pitocin or an epidural. They sound way too scary to me.

Why is there so much hating either way? A birth experience is personal and it is not a place for other mothers to judge.

Yes, it was my intention to have a natural birth. I went through all the birthing classes and learned different coping techniques. Unfortunately, my daughter was two weeks post-term. And my doctor thought that it would be best to do an induction. And the second they introduced that pitocin contractions started and they didn't stop. There was literally only seconds between these contractions that were just slamming my body. So, yes, after a few hours I gave. Especially after I still didn't dilate from the finger-tip width I was before. After that blessed epidural, though, I dilated to 7 in a couple of hours and then to 10 a couple more later. Turns out, I just needed to get a chance to rest. The nap I took while my body was busy dilating was literally the best nap I've ever had in my life. And in the end the result was my beautiful baby girl. She was completely healthy and I really don't care how she got here, just as long as she did.