I too, have never had an epidural. I have, however, had a completely drug free natural birth.
I see you are in the US, but you may find this interesting; it is taken from the NICE guidelines (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence) from the UK. It is public domain, so I don't believe that I'm posting something I shouldn't. If anyone disagrees, please let me know and I'll remove and give advice of what to seach for to get it! I found this when I was doing some research before my LO was born.
1.5 Pain relief in labour: regional analgesia
Information about regional analgesia
Before choosing epidural analgesia, women should be informed about the risks and benefits, and the implications for their labour.
This information about choosing epidural analgesia should include the following:
It is only available in obstetric units.
It provides more effective pain relief than opioids.
It is associated with a longer second stage of labour and an
increased chance of vaginal instrumental birth.
It is not associated with long-term backache.
It is not associated with a longer first stage of labour or an
increased chance of caesarean birth.
It will be accompanied by a more intensive level of monitoring
and intravenous access.
Modern epidural solutions contain opioids and, whatever the
route of administration, all opioids cross the placenta and in
larger doses (greater than 100 micrograms in total) may cause
short-term respiratory depression in the baby and make the baby
drowsy.
The 2 points that struck me were that it is associated with longer second stage and increased risk of assisted birth, and also that all opioids cross the placenta.
I know you're not asking about the other pain relief drugs, but, again for interest and from the same document:
Intravenous and intramuscular opioids
Pethidine, diamorphine or other opioids should be available in all
birth settings. Women should be informed that these will provide
limited pain relief during labour and may have significant side
effects for both the woman (drowsiness, nausea and vomiting) and
her baby (short-term respiratory depression and drowsiness which
may last several days).
Women should be informed that pethidine, diamorphine or other
opioids may interfere with breastfeeding
I suppose it's just food for thought.
I used hypnosis for the birth of my LO. As I said, I had no pain and no drugs, not even a paracetamol. There are no side effects, and no effect on the baby. Anecdotal evidence suggests that babies born using hypnosis are calmer and sleep better, but there have been no studies done to date.
From a purely personal view, I enjoyed the birth of my LO. I would not change anything about it, and if I am lucky enough to birth again, I will be doing it naturally.
I hope this is of use to you, and if you have any questions about hypnosis for childbirth, feel free to ask
