I have finally made up my mind

[HBGirl]

To tell the truth I am quite excited to be in labour. Its another reason I don't want pain meds. I want to experience it all.

 

[Sarah lo]

I got through my 71 hour labour with DD on nothing but paracetamol and a warm bath. I had a bit of gas and air for the last hour once I got to the hospital mind.

I hope to do it the same way next time but I'm not ruling all meds out, you just never know. labour is different every time for example a back to back birth is supposedly much more painful than the front to back one I had.

 

[Jslyn9996]

I chose undedicated with my son and am choosing it again with this pregnancy! In my case with my son they almost wanted me to get the epi to help me progress. Just stick to your guns and prove everyone wrong! You can do it!

 

[4magpies]

Gas and air makes me more woozy than morphine! By a million.

I haven't even thought about this yet! LOL.

I would love a water birth.

 

[Mrs_T]

I don't know where you guys are all based, buy here it's the norm not to have an epi and many people choose to go without meds or just use gas and air. I'm glad people here wouldn't scoff at wanting to go au natural, quite the opposite actually, it's very much supported!

With Lily I managed with only gas and air for the pushing stage and she was back to back, but a) they didn't realize I was in active labour (contractions with back to back babies can be a little eratic!) And b) I do consider myself to have quite a high pain threshold!

 

[Turnipstar]

I have decided to go unmedicated. I made this decision with lots of research and family history. Mu mom did one medicated where she had failure to progress and me unmedicated that ended up complication free. Another family member stopped progressing as soon as the epis were placed.

Now what annoys me are the scoffs I get when I mention my plans. Oh just you wait etc.

I have enrolled in a hypnobirthing class and I am excited to give it a try. If I end up needing meds, so be it but I want to at least try.

Anyone else choosing this route?

I went open minded with all three of mine, however I actually wasn't allowed any meds with any labours due to my labours progressing so quickly - I think the biggest mistake anyone can make is going in with set ideas of what they 'want', my first labour was like extreme period pains and I didn't need any pain relief. my second labour was absolute agony and third was same as first calm and uncomfortable but not painful, even now with hindsight I would have still opted with pain relief with second had it been a option because the Pain was so unbearable as she was back to back, I had a 4 minute pushing stage and no times to build up to the contractions it was total agony. With my third I had feared history would repeat itself, and it did! only by having another lovely labour the same as my first so you never know how your labour will go and also if i had had the opportunity to have meds with second i would hAve had them, it doesnt make u a weak person asking just do whats right for you x

 

[PandaMao]

I have to be honest and say I am absolutely terrified of labor! I've always been one of those people that just knew they were going to have an epidural no matter what, but recently I've been reconsidering this. I've just heard there are so many complications and you are sick in bed on your back. I really think I'd like options for moving around. I'm not sure if it's something I can handle, but I really want to give it a try I think.

 

[Nats21]

I hope to do this one on gas and air only like I did with callum but wouldnt rule out anything as you just never know. Good luck for it though, sounds like you've done a lot of research on it xx

 

[AliciaE323]

You should (and everyone should!) watch

"The Business of Being Born" documentary. It covers the pros/cons of it all. Has doctors giving their opinions on it all and shows both sides of the story. The answer is very clear by the end of it.

My DH and I were on opposite sides of the fence (he was for all the meds and hospital intervention you can get I was for au natural) and that documentary solidified my stance and even converted DH which I never thought would happen.

 

[sun]

I have to be honest and say I am absolutely terrified of labor! I've always been one of those people that just knew they were going to have an epidural no matter what, but recently I've been reconsidering this. I've just heard there are so many complications and you are sick in bed on your back. I really think I'd like options for moving around. I'm not sure if it's something I can handle, but I really want to give it a try I think.

I think one of the reasons I managed without an epi during my first labour (baby started back to back then turned so it was more painful than my second) is because I have a fear of lack of control. An epi generally puts you in bed, hooked up to IV and monitors, and you can no longer feel how labour is progressing or what is going on. I am a huge labour-walker - with my daughter I only got on the bed maybe 10 minutes before she was actually born. I find it slows things down and I feel the pain much more than if I walk around and am able to somewhat distract myself between contractions. Only when they are bad enough that I can't keep myself standing do I sit! LOL.

There are apparently "walking epidurals" which I've read about on here that allows you to retain some feeling, but I don't know anything about them.

 

[rosepetals36]

Tonight on bbc 2 was midwives-no pain no gain all about unmedicated labours, u may find it on iplayer i really enjoy this programme every Tues

 

[CastawayBride]

I labored for 84 hours and did not get the epi till the last 12. I went with a light epi so I could feel when I needed to push and just enough pain....Oh and I had not eaten either in that many hours other than jello as we were always "just about to do a c-section"...I think that was the hardest part! My little man was breech...I pushed like 4 times and he was out. Labor was definitely not as bad as I thought it would be...

 

[Starry Night]

I went without meds most of my labour and it was manageable but I got an epi just before they broke my water. The epi didn't take and I have to say that was some of the worst pain I have ever experienced in my life. I could hardly breathe--it felt like the air was being sucked out of my lungs. I ended up needing an emergency c-section and I had to be put under as the epi had failed. Next time I want the epi and I want it to work. I don't want to feel a thing. LOL But I don't know if I will have a c-section next time or not. Too soon to decide.

I think it's fine if you want to go med free though. Before I had meds I found the birthing ball to be a life-saver.

 

[EarthMama]

I did an all-natural home birth with my son and will do the same this time around.

It was definitely the most hardcore, intense experience of my life. I was completely out of my head, far out of my body due to the pain, experiencing past lives as other people, etc. I was not aware of anything in existence other then getting the baby out. It felt like the entire reason I had been born was to push this baby out!

After 13 hours of difficult all-natural labor, I had my baby boy on my chest in my arms. He was so alert and healthy, rated 10 on everything. It was an experience I will NEVER EVER forget, I am tearing up just at the memory!

 

[lilly88]

Holy moley, did anyone else watch the midwives programme on BBC2 last night (UK only)?

It wasn't the pain I was most scared about, it was the poo in the birthing pool! I think I have a lot to learn...........

 

[tinyfootsteps]

Holy moley, did anyone else watch the midwives programme on BBC2 last night (UK only)?

It wasn't the pain I was most scared about, it was the poo in the birthing pool! I think I have a lot to learn...........

I'm about to watch this episode on catch-up. I never know if watching these kind of shows are a good idea or not. If I start freaking it out I'll turn it off!

 

[HBGirl]

I have watched a few youtube videos on hypnobirthing. It is so touching and emotional to see women totally calm and in control. I don't expect to be like that, I don't have expectations to be honest, but it looks amazing to me.

I don't want to go in with the goal of pain free, just pain managed.

 

[lilly88]

Holy moley, did anyone else watch the midwives programme on BBC2 last night (UK only)?

It wasn't the pain I was most scared about, it was the poo in the birthing pool! I think I have a lot to learn...........

I'm about to watch this episode on catch-up. I never know if watching these kind of shows are a good idea or not. If I start freaking it out I'll turn it off!

It was a really good episode but made me realise just how much it's going to hurt!

Good luck!

 

[sun]

Holy moley, did anyone else watch the midwives programme on BBC2 last night (UK only)?

It wasn't the pain I was most scared about, it was the poo in the birthing pool! I think I have a lot to learn...........

If you rent a pool you usually get a little sieve to skim out poo bits
Not everyone poos while giving birth, but lots do! Usually if you're lying down then the nurse/midwife gets rid of it and often the person giving birth doesn't even know it happened unless someone tells them. In a pool it gets more obvious though lol!

 

[overcomer79]

Am I the only one that thought that getting the epi hurt worse than my contractions? With dd it failed. I'm hoping to avoid induction as well as medication. I can't do a home birth or anything due to previous complications which is fine by me.