Giving Birth Without an Epidural - Katy,TX

I have two children and did not have an epidural with either one. I was about to get one with my second child, but she decided to make her way into the world as they were prepping me for it. :)~ Good Luck!

I had my son without an epidural. It wasn't as bad as everyone says that it is. In the moment, it sucked. I didn't feel any pain during contractions fro 1cm-5cm. From 5cm-7cm I was in a hot bath, but was in a lot of pain. From 7cm to 10cm I was curled into a ball on the bed, just trying to ignore everyone and everything. But for me, dilating from 7cm to 10cm went REALLY fast (Maybe 10 minutes). And for me, once I started pushing the pain was no longer there. The best way I can describe what it felt like is it felt like I was dry heaving (Like when you throw up but nothing comes out) but the instead of the sensations going up they are going down. And after that (After the baby AND the placenta come out), the pain if gone and forgotten within a couple of days.

YOU CAN DO IT!!!

But if you end up not being able to take it (Aka long or induced labor) then don't feel guilty about it either.

I have 3 children and gave birth to my first without an epidural. None of my children were induced. I had planned to have an epidural with my first but they held off because I wasn't progressing but then the doc broke my water and the next thing they knew I was at 8 cm. The nurse said I could have one but it probably wouldn't kick in before I delivered. They gave me a drug called nubane (non-narcotic) along with phenergan which helped. I won't lie it wasn't easy and there was a lot of pain but I kinda withdrew into myself and just used my breathing techniques and delivered my daughter after 45 mins of pushing. It isn't easy but you can do it especially if you have the option of some IV pain relief. Best of luck to you!

You can do this. I gave birth to my daughter without drugs and am very glad I did. Nothing against drugs; there are definitely times when they are needed, but I wanted to try to do it without if I could. You go into what they call "laborland" as all your endorphins kick in to help with the pain. You are just "in the zone" and not really worried about anything; your body takes over and does what it needs to do. I highly recommend creating a birth plan - a list of things that are important to you about how your birth goes (e.g., no drugs, no trainees in the room, soft music allowed, birthing ball, etc.) and making sure the hospital will accommodate it. Most will. Make sure you are as comfortable as possible - whatever is soothing to you. I second the other poster's recommendation of waiting as long as you can before going to the hospital. You're just more comfortable in your own home (although I am very pro-hospital for the actual birth). The book Birthing From Within is an excellent resource. It gets a bit new agey, but you can skip over those parts. Learning how to breathe through contractions is absolutely essential. Yes, they still hurt, but breathing properly makes them go much more smoothly. The recovery time without drugs is much faster, too. You can do this. You already have 2 kids and a husband. You can do anything!

I have had two children. The first without an epidural. I had heard horror stories (such as a lady who was paralyzed for almost 6 months after giving birth...she is ok now but not then). I was scared of possible complications and did not get one. They did give me some medication but not an epidural (and yes, my labor was relatively long). The second was with an epidural (I had since heard wonderful stories and was armed w/ additional information). The labor itself was shorter but still not a "quick" delivery. The epidural however, was not a effective as others had told me and I had incredible pain even after getting it (at first it wasn't that bad but I could still feel it and it wore off). The anaestheologist was tied up in ER and couldn't get back to me and by the time he could he assumed I had delivered. They called him again and he said "oh, it's too late to give more". They did give me a "little something" but they couldn't give more of the epidural. Needless to say, epidurals are not all they are cracked up to be. They can be very effective but you can also get them and they not be effective...or somewhere in between.

I had both my daughters without pain medication, and of course many other women have as well, so you definitely can! I won't lie, of course it's incredibly painful, but I've heard for some it's not (I wish!), so maybe you could research techniques to lessen the pain. But regardless, you can do it! I didn't think I could, but your body has the strength and the ability. Good luck!!!

When I was pregnant with my first child, my husband and I had no insurance so I knew that an epidural wasn't a choice. I was worried because women kept telling me that I wouldn't be able to do it without one. But then I began to think about all the women who had babies without any medication at all before all of this medication was available. I changed my mind set to "I can do it and I will be fine". I had gotten myself so worked up about how horrible the pain would be that when the day came, although it was very painful, it wasn't anything like I expected. As a matter of fact, I wanted every delivery I had after that to be a natural one. I got pregnant with my next two children with full coverage insurance but wanted to have natural births. Sadly, I was unable to because I had to have a c-section with both. However, natural childbirth was the most awesome experience of my life!!! You can do it and you will be fine!!! We women as much stronger than we think we are!!!

My first child I started to panic after two hours and had an epidural, which I swore I would never have (I faint at the sight of needles). I was 34 and she was one week late. An hour after the epidural she was born.
My second child I planned to do the same. She was one week early. Child number one was born 4 hours after the water broke. Child number two was born 45 minutes after the water broke which was 5 minutes before we got to the hospital. I freaked for a minute when I realized that there was no time for an epidural on this one. And then I took a deep breath and realized I had no choice. I focused on what needed to be done, visualized what was happening, and just did it. In retrospect, the labor pains were worse than pushing my daughter out. And I remember that once she was out, there was a sense of relief.
Just try to stay calm and focus. I visualized a soft gold and pink hallway that my baby was coming down. But whatever works for you. It will work. Best wishes.

Not only is it possible but it is advisable. So many people I know still have lingering soreness and issues from epidurals over 20 yrs after.
I gave birth to all 3 of my children without anything. They all had different labor experiences but all three were perfectly OK without medication. You need to know the stages of labor and that the hardest part called transition is for a limited time. You can get through anything with the proper breathing and stay focused on an object outside of yourself. Like in the hospital room there was a crucifix and I focused on that and thought this is nothing compared to what he went through and I just focused on birthing that baby.
Having a baby is a natural process and it just hurts for a limited time because your body is working so hard to push the baby out.
Forget there is a choice and think oK I am going to be fine and my baby is going to be even better without this and I can do it.
Best of luck. Study up on it.

look into midwives. they have a lot of information and might be a better option financially at the moment!!!