This is one of my concerns too. I am not so much afraid of the epidural, I am afraid of the catheter and the aftermath of what it can do to you.
That is one of the reasons I want to try natural because once you have the catheter in, you cannot move and I want to be able to move freely and try different birthing positions.
I am so back and forth with this (medicated vs. unmedicated). I asked my sister-in-law who has three kids. The first two kids were natural and last one was with the epidural and she said she doesn't know why she didn't do the epidural with the first two.
So I am so torn on what to do I have no idea.
Yes it's very much the same for me. With my first I wanted as natural as possible but when the time came I just couldn't cope and asked for an epidural. The epidural itself was great but it was everything that came with it that I didn't like. I had the wire in my back for the epidural, the catheter in, 2 drips in and a wire attached to my baby's head, I was confined to lying in bed on my back and literally had wires coming out of everywhere, I hated it! I asked for my catheter and drips to come out straight away but was told they had to stay in for 48 hours "just in case". Where I live we have a birthing centre but the hospital is 30 miles away and if you go to the hospital to have your baby you get sent back afterwards to recuperate in the local birth centre so I had to come back in my husbands car with cannula's in my hands and a bag attached to my leg. It was honestly horrifying. I've suffered urinary incontinence ever since and have had to physio to get to a reasonably controllable level, they say it's pregnancy that caused it but I feel it was partly due to having to have that catheter in for days when I really didn't need it. Immediately after they took it it I was stood there holding my newborn and all of a sudden my legs were warm and wet, I just looked at my husband and said am I haemorrhaging? He said no love, you've wet yourself! I had no control whatsoever and I took me many months to get it to what it is now which is reasonable but I could never go without incontinence products unfortunately.
This time around I'm more prepared and I'm going to try and have my baby in the birth centre so I can avoid all of it!
Sorry for the rant, I'm a bit bitter about it all!
Sarah xxx