My First Delivery

I had a scheduled C section w/ my son w/ epi. I actually loved the whole experience. I was back up & moving well w/in a week of having him. W/ the epi I think the worst things about it were the anesthesiologist actually finding the place to put the epi in & the fact that i had one little numb spot on my back for a couple months post baby. So from my experience both are nice to have & were overall a positive experience.

I suggest that you just see how things go in the delivery room. I tried to go all natural with my first son. Little did I know he was 9 pounds and 21 inches long. (I am not even 5 feet tall) Lets just say it felt like someone was ripping me apart. The back labor was unbelievable. On the other hand, my second son (who was induced b/c he was going to be just as big) was not nearly as bad. The labor pains were much more manageable even with pitocin. Just be open to the epidural just in case. You do have to consider the average first birth is at least 8 hours. Don't make any decisions prior and don't get your mind set in either direction. You just don't know how the experience will be, and don't be hard on yourself if you really need it. Take your time and go in with the goal of natural, but be open to making changes depending on how you are feeling.

Usually inductions aren't good to do unless you are 41 weeks, since the due date is only an estimation to begin with. I had a c-section with my first and an induction and VBAC with my second. Just b/c you have an induction doesn't mean you will have a c-section. To be honest, most of that depends on how c=section happy your doctor is. The average rates these days are 30%, and that is out of sight. Having an induction raises your risk a little, but most of all that depends on how dedicated your dr is to having a vaginal birth. Most drs want the csection b/c it is easy and fast and they make more money. (Not all drs, but most.)

Me personally i wouldn't get an epidural i didn't with my daughter and it's not that bad. It seems hard but when you think this WILL be over it's not that bad. I also wouldn't have a Cesarean. My sister had a natural and a cesarean and she was MUCH happier with the natural. The recovery is NO TIME and in a cesarean is REALLY LONG. So he might get called from work or whatnot you have to drive fast but it's all for your comfort and if he wants to go back to work with you not in pain he will be happier. Most deliveries aren't like "Oh my water broke, here she is" Most are over time and he has plenty of time to get home. My water broke at 7pm and i didn't deliver until 7pm the next evening. They told me i was quick for a first delivery. My sister said her pain from a cesarean was HORRABLE. She couldn't hardly walk and hold the baby at all. He felt really bad and there was no reason for it. She said she will never do it again. Also if you want another baby alot of doctors don't like to do a natural delivery after a cesarean.

Hi K.. I am a mother of 2. I can tell you it is completely up to you on what you want to do. Here are my experiences. I didn't have an epideral with my first and was in labor with him for 13 hours. It was pretty easy for me to breath through the contractions and relax in between them. Plus I went into labor on my own. With me second it was totally opposite. Because I wanted to make sure I had the same doctor, that delivered my first, I was induced 5 days early. I was doing fine until I started having, what they call, back labor. I can take pain, but when it comes to feeling like I was being kicked in the back I couldn't. So I got an epideral. Well to me because I was on the bed and thinking back, I didn't see why I did. After I got it, they laid me down to check how far along I was. The nurse told me to give a little push then told me to stop, because he was coming and she had to get the doctor. A couple pushes and he was out. Then I was laid up in the labor room waiting for the epideral to wear off. The doctor said the epideral moved things along quicker. I wish I could have enjoyed the epideral before he came. :P Sorry I don't know anything about cesarean. In my opinion, after what I have gone through, my next one will be natural. Only you know how you feel and what your body is telling you. Go with your instincts. I hope this helps you. Please keep me informed. Good luck.

Dear K.,
I too was in your shoes just 3 years ago. I was having my first and(which was also a girl) and didn't know what to expect. If only I knew then what I know now.....I was induced at 40 weeks because I had a really horrible pregnancy. (I got gallstones from pregnancy, I got salvary gland stones, they then found out I was gestational diabetes the last 2 weeks of my pregnancy, and to top it off, I vomitted the entire pregnancy) At this point they labeled me as High Risk pregnancy! They decided to enduce me at 4:30p.m. By 10:30, they had to do an emergency c-section. When they said that I think my body went into shock. I had a spinal tap, then a c-section. Everything was going great until the day after I had the c-section. My temperature went up to 104, and they knew I had an infection. I caught a staph infection from the c-section. I am not trying to scare you, but just be aware of all the germs that you are acceptible to while in a hospital. Also, if you do have a c-section, the most important thing is if you start to get a temperature, call an Infectious Disease doctor. I layed in the hospital for a month without knowing that-I almost died from this! The more that I had talked about this with other Mom's, the more I am finding that this happens alot! Just be very prepared! Having a baby is such a miracle! You really realize that when you have something like this happen to you! God bless you and your baby girl!

I was in labor for 30 hours and I would not have made it without the epidural. I waited as long as I could until I couldn't bare the pain anymore. I have a very high pain tolerance..but this is not your normal pain at all. But its a decision you have to make with your doctor. My husband was not there for the birth (marine bootcamp). I was 9 days late and was not induced. My doctor was going to let me go 2 weeks before inducing me. I wanted everything to go smoothly I did not want to be induced..I figured she would come when she was ready and she did. My biggest fear was getting a c-section. But everyone is different. As long as your doctor says that the baby is healthy and fully developed then it becomes your personal choice.

First of all CONGRATS! I just had my 2nd child 5 months ago. It's hard to give advice like this b/c everyones body is different. I decided to have an epidural after hearing my aunt talk about hers. She went natural with her 1st 2 kids and then opted for the epidural with her 3rd childs birth. She said if she had to do over, she would have gotten the epidural with all 3 kids. She said she was in no pain and was able to actually enjoy the whole experience instead of just praying for it to be over and passing out from exhaustion after the birth. So...I decided to have the epidural with both my kids births. My experience was great! No pain, just presure (so you know when to push). I also was induced with both births. With both I waited until my due date, had an ultrasound to predict an estimate weight and make sure all organs were deveolped,etc. I was also already dialted with both kids. To 3 with my 1st and to 5 with my second. So labor was already in a slow progress, we just sped it up. Both my labors were fast. 6 hours with my daughter and 4 with my son. I have no regrets! The epidural felt like a small pinch and then some presure...a little uncomfy for about a minute if that. Whatever you decide, its your choice. Don't let ppl make you feel bad if you chose to do something different than they did. Remember that your doctor would never let you do anything or make any decisions that could harm your child. Its a great experience, enjoy it....and take lots of pictures! Best of luck, D.

I would definitely recommend the epidural-I LOVED mine-but it is a personal decision. Someone told me before I had my daughter to remember that you don't win awards for being miserable and in pain, so why not try to be as comfortable as possible? Just make the decision that you think you will be the happiest with. If you know that your husband might not be there for the birth if you just wait to go into labor, you might want to consider getting induced so that he can be there. My husband is in the Navy and because of a work thing, he almost didn't make it on time and I was hysterically crying thinking that he was going to miss it. Thankfully he walked in just as they were getting me ready to start pushing, and he and I were both glad that he made it in time!

I opted to induce with my first one week early for similar reasons. My husbands job is chaotic at best and didn't want to miss it. I have to tell you, I did have a C-section. I think the baby will come when it's ready and you shouldn't try to force your body into something it's simply not ready to do yet (unless medically advised). I was in labor for 12 hours induced by pitocin and never reached 5 centimeters (and I did have an epidural). I realized later that my body simply wasn't ready. If I had just had the patience for my body to do it's job, everything else would have fell into place. I'm sure your husband will have plenty of time to make it back. First babies don't come fast! The epidural is your choice. I recommend them to anyone!

Speaking from personal experience, I am so glad I chose to have the epidural. In fact, I had two because once the first one wore off, it was too much pain for me to handle. I was also induced 3 days after my due date, and the pitocin made my contractions very strong and painful. I didn't have to have a c-section though. But with the epidural, I was able to focus on my pushing, and watch everything without being in extreme amounts of pain. It didn't make me goofy, or "high" or anything, just able to enjoy the amazing experience of childbirth. They seem to be inducing moms a lot more these days for some reason. I wish you the best of luck, and congrats on your baby girl. My girl is 14 months old now and she's so much fun, and healthy as can be. Good luck!

I have had two induced labors with no complications that ended in vaginal deliveries. I was induced with my first child (my son) because he was post-term. I was 2 1/2 cm dilated and 70% effaced at the time of induction. I delivered my daughter two weeks ago and was induced due to hypertension at 37 weeks and one day. I was 1 1/2 cm dilated and 50% effaced. If you're body is beginning to dilate and efface on it's own, your risk of the induction resulting in c-section isn't as great as if it isn't. I wouldn't elect to induce, without a medical reason, unless those things were happening. As for the epidural, I went in to both of my labors with the attitude that I would take it as it came and decide if I needed the epidural based on how I was feeling. In both cases, I did end up getting the epidural after about five or six hours. It worked well for me in both deliveries and I have absolutely no regrets. Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

I would avoid any interventions like the plague. The more interventions you have the higher risk of a c-section. Epidural and induction are both interventions. Unless you have high risk factors, I would decline and let your body do it's job. It's good to be able to move around and change position, which goes out the window with an epidural. Pregnancy is not an illness and birth is not a crisis. They are both natural physiological processes. Don't psych yourself out into thinking it's more painful or difficult than it is. Just relax and enjoy the experience. As a strong woman, there isn't anything you can't handle.

I'll give you my experience in the reverse order. I was induced because my son would not come on his own, you can have an induction without a cesarean section, if you were going to do an induction, I would go this route. It's safer than a section, you still get to deliver naturally and your husband won't miss the birth. A cesarean isn't bad, but it is surgery and you'll be laid up for at least a little while, that you could be feeling better. As for the epidural, I had one after 7 hrs of hard labor, but I always knew I was going to get one. Since I was induced, I just waited until I felt I had helped as much as I could walking and being upright, then got the epidural. There isn't sufficient scientific evidence to suggest an epidural is dangerous. Most importantly do what feels right for you and don't let people push you either way. Good luck and congratulations!!

K.,

You have to do what you feel you need to do during YOUR delivery. Everyones deliver is special and different and we all do what we need to do to get them hear. So if you are in too much pain get the epidural. But, if you can stand it and its okay then go all natural. I have two kids 3 and 9mos I had an epidural with both it was easy the first 4 centimeters and then after that I (remember I) could not take it. So again, you will know what you need to do for you and the little bundle of joy!

K. hi my name is E. and I also have a girl who was born November last year and Ill tell you what i would not have made it without the epidural. But you also have to consider your pain tolerance. Mine is pretty high but this is not your baring a tattoo kind of pain so I think, as much as you may think you want to do is all natural, don't rule it out quite yet. You never know how you are really going to feel until you are going inot labor. Also my doctor told me that going up to 2 wks past your due date is normal but only wait one. If you feel like you should induce so you don't take the chance on your husband missing it, by all means go for it. Just follow your intuition.

congrats on your little girl! how exciting...

we're a military family and i know a lot of the wives will induce so that their hubby's can be there for the birth. i had a C-section myself. C-sections aren't so bad. yeah, you have a scar, but then your hubby will for sure be there. my son is healthy and that's all i could ask for. every one of my friends recommended the epidural. so that's the advice i can give on that. they loved the epidural. :) LOL!

My first child was induced, and I ended up getting an epidural after about 12 hours of hard labor. The induction drugs definitely made it VERY painful. If it had been a shorter labor, though, I would have made it all natural even with the induction, so I'd say try it out and see how far you can go. The whole experience was wonderful and empowering and I love to remember every second, even the painful part.

My second child was an emergency c-section, because he was sideways and then breech. The labor was less painful than the first, but it didn't feel "right" because he was oriented incorrectly, so in some ways it was worse. Long story short, 13 hours in to natural labor they did the emergency c-section. If you can avoid it, I recommend doing it the natural way. I had it lucky, and was able to walk around and clean my house a week or so later, but this is big surgery and I know lots of people who were laid up for weeks. Not only that, I have had a lot harder time with hormones (some baby blues, feeling like I "lost" my baby even though he is right there in my arms) due to the surgery. So, in short, it had the BIG plus of getting me a healthy baby boy (and I would chose it again in a second if it meant increasing the chance of a healthy baby), but on the downside it was not the wonderful experience that the first delivery was. So if you can have a natural or non-c-section delivery I recommend that! Again, at the end of the day, the healthy baby is the point and the rest is just icing on the cake!

First of all, congrats! I would NOT get induced if you can help it. I have heard that inductions cause much more painful labor than if you go into labor on your own. It seems doctors these days are quick to schedule inductions for convenience - they scheduled me for one a couple days after my due date but it was not medically necessary. I ended up cancelling it and my daughter was born a few days later and everything was fine. I wouldn't mess with God's timing unless there was some kind of medical reason. On the epidural - I don't think you can decide until you experience hard contractions. I got an epidural but it didn't work (no one told me that could happen!!) so I was very disappointed. Otherwise I've heard most people have good experiences so if you get to that point where you can't take the pain anymore, I think it's very safe to try! Good luck to you and God bless your new baby!

Congratulations K.. This is a very personal choice, of course. It depends on your threshold of pain. I personally took the Lamaze classes and learned a lot about how the drugs they give you affect the baby's apgar score significantly because those drugs go through to baby as well. Therefore, I made the choice to go without any meds and I felt I was able to fully control my own situation. (By the way, I did this with all five of my kids). When my daughter had her first baby, she elected for an epidural. Not only was it painful to her during the administration, it only took in one leg. Consequently, she felt every pain and didn't know how to control it. She has a gorgeous daughter and another on the way.
My personal view is to take the classes offered and if you cannot control the pain or choose another method, opt for the meds. It doesn't mean failure. Just don't put yourself through any unpleasantness, this is supposed to be an amazing experience to be remembered.
Have a happy baby.

I delivered naturally with my son (3 1/2 years) but ended up having a c-section with my daughter (7 months) because she was breach. Going into my son's delivery I kept it an open option on whether I would get an epidural or not. I figured if I could take the pain I wouldn't get one, but if I couldn't I would. Well, after 2 days of back labor and not much sleep I decided I couldn't take it anymore and got the epidural. Let me tell you the relief! The bad part was I was totally worn out from the previous labor and I think it took me a lot longer to recover from that than from my c-section. With my daughter, she was breach so I was scheduled for a c-section. She decided to come a couple days before though. The only problem I had from the c-section was I developed a spinal headache from the spinal they put in. (If that happens to you, tell them you want a blood patch and it will take away the headache. The only downfall is your back will be very sore for a day or two.) Anyways, I recovered a lot quicker and felt much better after the c-section than after my vaginal birth. I was up and moving around as soon as I got my catheter out - definitely do that and you will recover quicker if you get a c-section.
Don't let everyone scare you about how painful or not it will be. It's different for everyone and with every baby. Keep an open mind as to what you will do and just try to prepare yourself for all the options. If you want your husband there for the birth, which I wouldn't want it any other way, then you do what you want to do.

I went to almost 7 centimeters without an epidural. I think it helped me get through the last part of my labor b/c, although I had a lot of support, my husband wasn't there (he was deployed). I wasn't as focused as I should've been and I couldn't rise above the pain. There are a lot of different ways to cope with the pain, and mannn I have never felt anything like it, but you have to be FOCUSED and SURE to do it.

As far as being induced, if there's a week or so window around your due date where your husband won't be travelling I wouldn't do it. Then again, I'm not a fan of unecessary medical intervention.

Good Luck to you!

I had both of my kids natural. Each birth was so different too. I also had a great support team and without them I don't think I could have made it without the epidural. My midwife was great at getting me mentally ready for a natural labor. I knew this is what I wanted to do. I think if you aren't sure and with the time you have before you have your baby, you need to decide now and do some research. A doula is a wonderful person to have in the labor room. They can help you by setting up a plan before hand so when you are in the middle of giving birth you will not have to make decisions. She would also be there as a support to your husband. If there is a possibility of him being out of town, then you will have someone there. I know that isn't what your plan is but just another option. As for inducing it is my personal belief that if your baby isn't ready to come and you induce you are taking a great risk. More chance of complications. I know women do it every day but if there isn't a medical reason I wouldn't do it. But that is something that you have to research and make what is the best decision for you. I wish the best for you new little sweetie.

Well first let me say it is personal prefernce with getting the epidural. I had both of my kids without. Though after the first I swore I would do it the 2nd time around!! But 2nd came to fast!
As for being induced again up tp you. My 1st was induced and he came natural. From what I understand now about it being induced can cause longer labor. I guess thats why I was in labor with my older for about 9 hours and my 2nd was from start to finish 2 hours 10 minutes.
Good luck to you and your family

I think there was an article about cesareans on CNN.com a few weeks ago. Something like over 40% of inductions end in cesarean and only 8% of spontaneous labors do. To me, that's too big of a risk. Especially just for convenience. Induction should be for medical reasons only. It distresses the fetus and too many things can go wrong.

Why decide on an epidural now? You really don't know what you're up against. Don't go into the birth fearing it and expecting it to be a horrible painful experience. Read up on some natural birth books. Find out what the pros and cons are and have the information in your mind so that when the time comes you can make an informed decision.