Epidural or unmedicated birth?

Health, Fitness, Food, Insurance, Longevity, Diets,...
Post Reply
bostonimproper
Posts: 579
Joined: Sun Jul 01, 2018 11:45 am

Epidural or unmedicated birth?

Post by bostonimproper »

I have to pick which OB/midwife I want which means I have to know roughly my birthing plan so I end up in the right kind of hospital/facility. Curious if folks can share their experiences? I’ve heard unmedicated births are more common ex-US and there’s a lot of claims online that epidurals lead to greater subsequent interventions, but not really seeing much fact based evidence.

rube
Posts: 883
Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2012 7:54 pm
Location: Europe (NL)

Re: Epidural or unmedicated birth?

Post by rube »

If you ask people you probably get a lot of cultural, local/regional, personal biased feedback, but we have some medical trained members here so they might give their medical opinion.

My view not based on any medical knowledge, and note I am not a female, let nature do its thing unless something is wrong or there are indications is might go wrong ("wrong" covers everything you want it to be).
If I would be a female my answer might have well been, of course you want to use an epidural anesthesia because why would you suffer, it's no good. We're living in 2022! (My pain tolerance is probably way below that of my DW).

7Wannabe5
Posts: 9369
Joined: Fri Oct 18, 2013 9:03 am

Re: Epidural or unmedicated birth?

Post by 7Wannabe5 »

Sharon Olds


The Language of the Brag

I have wanted excellence in the knife-throw,
I have wanted to use my exceptionally strong and accurate arms
and my straight posture and quick electric muscles
to achieve something at the centre of a crowd,
the blade piercing the bark deep,
the haft slowly and heavily vibrating like the cock.

I have wanted some epic use for my excellent body,
some heroism, some American achievement
beyond the ordinary for my extraordinary self,
magnetic and tensile, I have stood by the sandlot
and watched the boys play.

I have wanted courage, I have thought about fire
and the crossing of waterfalls, I have dragged around

my belly big with cowardice and safely,
my stool black with iron pills,
my huge breasts oozing mucus,
my legs swelling, my hands swelling,
my face swelling and darkening, my hair
falling out, my inner sex
stabbed again and again with terrible pain like a knife.
I have lain down.

I have lain down and sweated and shaken
and passed blood and feces and water and
slowly alone in the centre of a circle I have
passed the new person out
and they have lifted the new person free of the act
and wiped the new person free of that
language of blood like praise all over the body.

I have done what you wanted to do, Walt Whitman,
Allen Ginsberg, I have done this thing,

I and the other women this exceptional
act with the exceptional heroic body,
this giving birth, this glistening verb,
and I am putting my proud American boast
right here with the others.

Laura Ingalls
Posts: 668
Joined: Mon Jun 25, 2012 3:13 am

Re: Epidural or unmedicated birth?

Post by Laura Ingalls »

An epidural usually requires an IV and an ungainly IV pole. You are less mobile

I have had two unmediated births. I really had not committed to either option with the first and didn’t end up wanting one. The second labor was pretty pretty similar but even faster and I have a hard time envisioning ever getting an anesthesiologist around timely enough to be germane.

candide
Posts: 432
Joined: Fri Apr 08, 2022 9:25 pm
Location: red state America
Contact:

Re: Epidural or unmedicated birth?

Post by candide »

DW is expecting our first in a month, and we are on team drugs. Rather, my wife is, and I immediately accept that as her choice.

I don't know if I was leading the doctor or not, so put it in this context, but I felt she was relieved when we didn't dance around it and just came out as on team drugs, so I asked her if it wasn't the case that a whole bunch acted tough and brave in the abstract, but either caved or came to regret it, and she seemed to say, yes, that is the case.

mooretrees
Posts: 762
Joined: Sun Jan 27, 2019 1:21 pm

Re: Epidural or unmedicated birth?

Post by mooretrees »

This is such a personal journey, that I won't give advice. I wanted natural all the way, thought I could do it. I did do it for a long time, but then the pain wore me down, I started bleeding and wasn't progressing. C-section 30 min later and healthy baby boy. I've talked with a lot moms over the years and heard so many different birth stories. It wasn't hard to choose the epidural after 24 + hours of labor. I wasn't happy to have a c-section, but was so worn out from dealing with labor that I am not sure I could have pushed. That and I never dilated more than five cm. I admire the women who knew they wanted an epidural and breezed through labor, had the epidural off and pushed their baby out. That sounds amazing now. I had to try for a natural birth just to answer the question of if I could do it.

User avatar
Jean
Posts: 1890
Joined: Fri Dec 13, 2013 8:49 am
Location: Switzterland

Re: Epidural or unmedicated birth?

Post by Jean »

i'de do it, but not without acces to a hospital within 30 minutes or an acceptance of possible death.

horsewoman
Posts: 659
Joined: Fri Jun 07, 2019 4:11 am

Re: Epidural or unmedicated birth?

Post by horsewoman »

My story is very similar to @moretrees.
When I was pregnant I was sure I'd give birth naturally. We ended up in the operating theatre with an emergency C-section after hours and hours of (rather pointless) labouring. I still have fond memories of the lovely and funny anesthesiologist who did the epidural, he has the role of "saviour" in my birth story ;)

I probably would not opt for an epidural from the start, but it's good to have someone on call on the facility who can do it.

mooretrees
Posts: 762
Joined: Sun Jan 27, 2019 1:21 pm

Re: Epidural or unmedicated birth?

Post by mooretrees »

horsewoman wrote:
Mon Jun 20, 2022 11:19 am
My story is very similar to @moretrees.
I still have fond memories of the lovely and funny anesthesiologist who did the epidural, he has the role of "saviour" in my birth story ;)
Me too! I still see the nurse anesthetist who gave me my epidural and I ALWAYS want to tell her how grateful I am for her and that I love her. I don't, as I see her regularly and it probably would be weird at this point.

GardenDee
Posts: 16
Joined: Tue Mar 22, 2016 6:57 am

Re: Epidural or unmedicated birth?

Post by GardenDee »

Had an epidural with #1 and it didn't take. Kiddo was sunny side up, i.e back labor and it was a long and miserable journey. Kiddo #2 and #3 were induced and unmedicated, no interventions and I recovered quite quickly afterwards. Kiddo #4 was a (deliberate) home birth, in the bathtub. I used water for the labor and that was totally relaxing, and I trusted my care providers. He was born 9.5lbs and I walked to the beach the next day, much to my neighbors surprise! That being said, I was prepared to go to hospital if things got hairy and / or I needed medication. It was never about being stoic or fixated on a medication-free birth, it was about my comfort, the safety of me and the baby and about minimizing disruption. I credit 2 books with helping me with the mindset- "Labor from within", and a book by Ina May Gaskin "Birth Matters". It is possible to have a safe, low intervention birth in the hospital- I suggest looking at Ina May's TED talk on Birth without Fear, to arm you with questions / topics to discuss with a potential care provider. Overall trust in your provider and birth partner is key. Best of luck to you!

take2
Posts: 317
Joined: Wed Jan 09, 2019 8:32 am

Re: Epidural or unmedicated birth?

Post by take2 »

Not a female so take it FWIW.

I’d say regardless of what you choose be flexible to what might happen (both physically but also mentally). DW was set on natural birth sans drugs but our DD had different plans (frank breech). DW was very bummed out about needing a planned c-section as a result. It ended up being an emergency c-section 2 days earlier than planned.

First few days were very hard, but she recovered very quickly thereafter. Added bonus of it being less than 2 hours from her water breaking to holding DD which is (as I understand) quite unlikely for a first time natural birth.

Post Reply