How do you feel about epidurals/natural birth?

[moomin_troll]

u dont die from pain! they died from infections so even if they had a epidural it wouldnt of made a difference.

and before anyone says yes i no ur body goes into shock from serious pain which can cause death (ive had a experience of this recently) but in general u dont die from pain

 

[Nibblenic]

u dont die from pain! they died from infections so even if they had a epidural it wouldnt of made a difference.

Pain will not directly kill you no not directly. That wasnt in the slightest what I was saying. Indirectly pain kills huge amonts of people both then and now. However yet again that wasnt the point I was trying to make.

My point was you have all sorts of pain relief offered/forced on you when you enter a medical enviroment. It isnt just childbirth nor is it just childbirth that it possible to go through with out pain relief.

 

[moomin_troll]

and again no one here is saying that epidurals are bad!
alot of us are saying we dont like them or wouldnt not even concider using them but on the other hand they are there for women to use if THEY need it. but most of us feel every woman should be informed about both sides of a epidural before having one.

 

[moomin_troll]

u dont die from pain! they died from infections so even if they had a epidural it wouldnt of made a difference.

Pain will not directly kill you no not directly. That wasnt in the slightest what I was saying. Indirectly pain kills huge amonts of people both then and now. However yet again that wasnt the point I was trying to make.

My point was you have all sorts of pain relief offered/forced on you when you enter a medical enviroment. It isnt just childbirth nor is it just childbirth that it possible to go through with out pain relief.

then am at a loss as to why u posted what u did then as it was based around when there was no pain relief people died, if that wasnt ur point then i think u worded it wrongly

 

[Gen79]

The point Blah was trying to make, I think, had less to do with the self-inflicted vs accident angle and more to do with the natural process vs injury angle. Childbirth, in most normal circumstances, is not something going wrong. Its as it should be. Most womens bodies react to what's happening in the way it needs to, if you don't panic (walk, sway, groan, move, nap, etc). The epi inhibits this process and contributes to longer labors (not that you mind but your baby does!) and failure to progress issues because you can't move the way that would come naturally otherwise. Statistically, forceps and venthouse is more likely to be used when a women has had an epi. This can't be good for baby, not if it wouldn't have been neccessary normally.

 

[Nibblenic]

u dont die from pain! they died from infections so even if they had a epidural it wouldnt of made a difference.

Pain will not directly kill you no not directly. That wasnt in the slightest what I was saying. Indirectly pain kills huge amonts of people both then and now. However yet again that wasnt the point I was trying to make.

My point was you have all sorts of pain relief offered/forced on you when you enter a medical enviroment. It isnt just childbirth nor is it just childbirth that it possible to go through with out pain relief.

then am at a loss as to why u posted what u did then as it was based around when there was no pain relief people died, if that wasnt ur point then i think u worded it wrongly

Or maybe you ready it wrongly

 

[moomin_troll]

Okay lets try and put it another way.

150 years ago. You had teeth pulled at the denisit with no pain relief. You would have a leg reset by bitting down on a piece of wood. You would have a child wihout medication. Many many more peple died in all of the above situations.
Now you wouldnt have a tooth out without pain reilief being offered. You wouldnt have you leg resent with out pain relief being offered and people have babies where pain relief is offered.

this post to me is all about pain relief and how people died in those situations. so im still failing to see what ur actualy point is from this post.

if ur refering to how modern machine has grown and now we have certain things on offer...ok i get that but just because theres a epidural there doesnt mean we all need it. and just because pain relief is offered at a dentist doesnt mean people take it or that it even works.

pain relief at the dentist doesnt work for me so everything i have done i feel the pain, so i do have a fear of that.
childbirth is natural and i feel its over medicalised now

 

[Nibblenic]

TBh when I was writting the post I was thinking of the speach the dentist at our local museum does abut the gas and air that was on offer at the time and how thy waited for people to die before they administered oxygen. Because people couldnt afford to have it used to be readily available straight away

There has been a lot on this thread about epi bein over used, over offered and there has been a mental/physical need created for it through it being easily available. What I am saying is it isnt only child birth that up until 100 years ago we did without pain relief. However pain relief is now offered/pushed in vaious medical enviroments not just child birth

You with me yet?

 

[moomin_troll]

i got that part of ur post along time ago that everything comes with pain relief, and yes its all there for a good reason which i dont think anyone is saying it isnt.

my little sister is a dramatic little cow n went to the dentist for a filling and she was being very vocal and a pain in the ass so the dentist shoved gas and air in her mouth to shut her up....which i dont blaim him for doing...altho id of used my hand around her face lol

the only thing that gets me if women who are pregnant with their first thinking straight away yes im going to have a epidural before they even now what there body can do using other things first.

and dont even get me started on thosefirst time mums who think a section is the easy way...i do want to give them a slap and scream wake up

 

[freckleonear]

Okay lets try and put it another way.

150 years ago. You had teeth pulled at the denisit with no pain relief. You would have a leg reset by bitting down on a piece of wood. You would have a child wihout medication. Many many more peple died in all of the above situations.

Now you wouldnt have a tooth out without pain reilief being offered. You wouldnt have you leg resent with out pain relief being offered and people have babies where pain relief is offered.

Having a tooth pulled or having a leg reset isn't a natural process. Having a baby is. Giving birth is not necessarily part of a medical environment (unless something goes wrong). It's not really comparable.

 

[moomin_troll]

i just see it like just because its there doesnt mean it should always be used.
fags are just there but i dont smoke them even tho i no sometimes they will make me feel so much better, i no the risks so i wont go near them. for me thats the same as a epidural, i no its there and i no it can take all the pain away but i also no the risks and for me its not worth it.

but then again my mum swears by them

 

[LeeBee]

I'm confused as to what the debate is about... That people are given epi's without proper information? Or that too many women are choosing epi's? I agree with the first, disagree with the second- because I don't think it's anyone's place to be saying what other women should be doing. And if a woman goes into her first labor saying she wants an epidural right away, who cares? It's her body, and she probably knows what she's capable of handling more than anyone else. I don't think pushing through without one makes a woman any better than the next...

I went into my first with the mindset that I would make it as far as I could without one. I made it... to the hospital... LOL. But I'm still proud of myself

 

[Blah11]

I dont think that its always a self inflicted injury, slipping and falling and dislocating your shoulder isnt self inflicted and neither is having your wisdom teeth out..

As some are scared of the dentist some women are scared of the pains from labour sho choose to have an epidural.

I think as long as everyone knows the risks and the procedure then its their choice.

MW's shouldnt be so pushy with it though and should go through pain relief that you can have before the epidural.

well, falling is your own doing, having rotten teeth as you eat too much sugar is your doing, but I agree, not ALL cases are self inflicted. They're still an injury though. Childbirth isn't.

I dont mean to pick but I couldnt help but post, my nan had dementia and I dont really like saying it was her own doing for falling.. Its not really your own doing, no one wants to fall, it just happens. I had my wisdom teeth out because I had too many teeth in my mouth and they would of started pushing them out of place, thats not an injury.. Childbirth is self inflicted in a sense as you got pregnant and want a child. Im not saying nobody should have an epidural or everyone should have one I think it depends on the mother and whether she is comfortable.

Whatever way we look at it we all gave birth to our child whether we had pain relief or we had none, whether we gave birth naturally or we had sections..

like I said, childbirth isn't an injury. Falling over is.

i work in orthopaedic rehab, you dont need to preach to me. I just chose the wrong words maybe or you took it the wrong way.

 

[pupsicle]

I don't have a problem with an epidural, my birth plan consisted of a water birth, with gas + air but I didn't definitely say no to an epidural. In the end LO came to quick for water birth and pain relief so all natural and I'm so proud of myself for it

 

[moomin_troll]

every woman should be proud of her self not matter how the baby got here, whether thats natural with no drugs, using drugs or the ones who have sections which i have the up most respect for.

im a total wimp and dont have a high pain theshold so when i had my son i was proud of myself for how i handled the pain, and no i dont think im better or deserve a medal.
and im also happy with how i have chosen to have my second which is at home in water.

 

[summer rain]

im not sure about this thread but ile post anyway lol

when i got pregnant with zane my mum told me to have a epidural(shes a big fan)
but i knew i didnt want one, but went into labour with a open mind.

i didnt have one and very happy that i didnt as it wasnt for me.

ive been told this by someone whos friend is a mw and said it herself " a epidural is mostly there for the mw rather then the woman, if a woman can sit thru contractions without moving for the epi to be done she would actualy be able to be coached thru them by her mw" and that also mws use epis to "keep women quiet!"
i was very shocked to hear that.

with my second im planning a home water birth (my first was induced in hospital) so im very pro natural birthing even tho this isnt for everyone.

i do also believe that epidurals and other pain relief is there for a reason and should be used for those who need it, and not to be forced on women

I can completely believe that about the epidurals, I do notice that in some hospitals around here where the midwives are really overstretched they really push the epidural for everyone; even though its going to mean they are more stretched as all the women need closer attention than would be otherwise needed. I would personally never have one if I could avoid it, I only know one lady personally who didn't have serious complications from having the epidural (emergency assisted delivery or c-section) and the risk of things going wrong does scare me.

 

[indy and lara]

Choices, choices, choices. Surely that is what it is all about?

Many people in this country are really not that in tune with their bodies so while our bodies are may be designed to give birth, not everyone has the confidence that they can do it. Many people fear the pain and this should not be simply cast aside. Some people have the ability to deal with pain while others don't. One person's agony is another's just sore.

The information is out there. It is not hard to find. I read threads upon threads about people researching which pram to buy so if we can do that, we also need to be researching the pain relief we will use. We do need to take responsibility for ourselves as well as seeking information from health professionals.

100 years ago people didn't have the choice of pain relief we have now. Now it is here,many people do have the attitude that it is here so I will use it. If you are informed then I don't see the issue with this. For some people natural child birth is important but it is not so important to others.

I for one never consider the pain relief that a woman has had during childbirth. A positive birth for me will always be getting the baby here safely. I didn't have a birth plan with Emma as it would never have been followed anyway so I didn't have the feelings of being let down etc that others have had. I know not everyone thinks like that but for me, the most appropriate pain relief is whatever a woman wants. Her birth, her choice.

 

[aragornlover8]

The point Blah was trying to make, I think, had less to do with the self-inflicted vs accident angle and more to do with the natural process vs injury angle. Childbirth, in most normal circumstances, is not something going wrong. Its as it should be. Most womens bodies react to what's happening in the way it needs to, if you don't panic (walk, sway, groan, move, nap, etc). The epi inhibits this process and contributes to longer labors (not that you mind but your baby does!) and failure to progress issues because you can't move the way that would come naturally otherwise. Statistically, forceps and venthouse is more likely to be used when a women has had an epi. This can't be good for baby, not if it wouldn't have been neccessary normally.

I like this point. To go a little off topic, I think it's funny (funny strange, not haha ) that we have so many doctors appointments when we're pregnant and constantly get treated as if we are sick of something. Pregnancy seems to be treated more like an illness than anything else nowadays. So it just seems natural that the labor part of the process should need as much intervention as all of the rest of it.

Granted, it's very good that I had as many doctors appointments as I did. Otherwise, they wouldn't have caught the preclampsia and I could have had a seizure and faced far worse consequences. So, in all honesty, I'm not 100% on where I stand with regards to medical intervention in pregnancy and labor. Talk about being at odds with myself.

 

[aragornlover8]

Choices, choices, choices. Surely that is what it is all about?

Many people in this country are really not that in tune with their bodies so while our bodies are may be designed to give birth, not everyone has the confidence that they can do it. Many people fear the pain and this should not be simply cast aside. Some people have the ability to deal with pain while others don't. One person's agony is another's just sore.

The information is out there. It is not hard to find. I read threads upon threads about people researching which pram to buy so if we can do that, we also need to be researching the pain relief we will use. We do need to take responsibility for ourselves as well as seeking information from health professionals.

100 years ago people didn't have the choice of pain relief we have now. Now it is here,many people do have the attitude that it is here so I will use it. If you are informed then I don't see the issue with this. For some people natural child birth is important but it is not so important to others.

I for one never consider the pain relief that a woman has had during childbirth. A positive birth for me will always be getting the baby here safely. I didn't have a birth plan with Emma as it would never have been followed anyway so I didn't have the feelings of being let down etc that others have had. I know not everyone thinks like that but for me, the most appropriate pain relief is whatever a woman wants. Her birth, her choice.

I definitely agree that it's a woman's choice. However, while the information is "out there," I think it could be made a lot more readily accessible at doctor's offices. I think, also, that doctors should be a little more forthcoming about the pros and cons associated with the epidural PRIOR to labor. A pamphlet or two at a doctor's office waiting room could make a world of difference, in my opinion. Especially in cultures where the epidural seems like the only option.

 

[venusrockstar]

I went into labour knowing in the back of my mind that I'd be getting an epidural at some point. My plan was to go as long as I could without any medication and I made it to about 7cm dilated. I did my research on epi's prior to even considering one and also asked my OB/GYN about them. I absolutely LOVED my birth experience. After I got my epi, it was a pain-free delivery. I wasn't even in any pain when my daughter came out, all I felt was pressure. It was a very calm and relaxing atmosphere, no pain, no grunting or screaming.

I would definately do it this way again when we have more children. I loved everything about my labour and delivery. 9 1/2 hours from start to finish, was eating popsicles and watching movies, even had a 2hr nap and had to be woken up when it was time to push.

Epi's are a very common thing over here and I don't think it makes anyone a martyr or anything by going natural. It's all about choices. I just wanted the best birthing experience I could have.