epidural vs walking epidural vs natural

A

amybajamy

Cathlete
I'm just wondering about people's experiences with pain control vs no pain control during child birth. I'm especially interested in the walking epidural. I'm going to talk to my doctor at my next appointment to see if they offer a walking epidural, but would appreciate hearing anyones's experiences with that, but also with a regular epidural and with natural childbirth. I don't know what I want to do yet. Please share.

Thanks,
Amy
 
Hi Amy!

I had a natural CB w/ both of my DDs. I can't imagine doing it any other way.

DD1 was 8 hours of labor w/ 3 pushes.
DD2 was 2 hours of labor w/ about a half a push!
Hope I "beat my time" again!!!

I hope you figure out what you want/dr. has good answers for you. I'm looking into hypno-birthing this time around. A friend tried it and absolutley loved it. Do you anything about it? I need to check it out a little, well a lot, more.
 
Hey Amy,

Check out The Thinking Woman's Guide to Pregnancy/Birth and anything by Ina May Gaskin ... lots of info and stories about natural vs. medicated births. I had my first child 3 months ago and had a natural delivery. My labor was 17 hours long, but so worth it. Nico was born totally alert and aware. Certainly, it is an individual choice and varies from delivery to delivery - depending on how things are going - but I really enjoyed doing it naturally. Well, "enjoyed" may not be the word - but I have no regrets and would do it the same all over again.

I could go on and on about the benefits for the baby, but I'll restrain myself :) Good luck!

arancini
 
I was hell-bent on having a natural childbirth with my now 3 year old, Collin. However, after 18 hours of un-medicated labor, stuck at 5 centimeters, and my midwife's decision to start petocin, the pain REALLY kicked in. I was in and out of the bathtub, using a tens unit (not in the bathtub!!), birthing ball, everything you could think of.

FOR ME, there came a point where the pain was so bad that it hurt to move in any sort of way. I couldn't walk, rock, or even waddle to the potty to pee. I asked for the epi, and within 30 minutes of having it, I was at 10 centimeters and ready to push. My labor was 23 hours total.

I have no regrets about how my delivery went. I often wonder if I would have been able to make it if I hadn't had petocin. Just be open to all options!
 
I thought I would stick to a "wait and see" approach when it came to my labor. I think it is a very good idea to educate yourself on all of the choices that way you can make informed decisions during labor. I had an epidural after being stuck at 9 cm for 8 hours. My midwife decided to give me pitocin to help me along to 10 otherwise I would definetely need a cesearean b/c I had been in labor about 40 hours. But, I knew that the pitocin would make things more intense and I was really tired at this point - pain really exhausts you and my hubby later told me that I was so out of it. So, I had the epidural at 9cm and had it done TWICE! it only worked to take the edge off the pain on 1/2 of my body and the first try did nothing at all...but it was worth it! I didn't have the option of a walking epidural b/c the anaestheseologist on duty (or however you spell it) wasn't trained for that. I had a natural childbirth in the end. If I hadn't had the epidural to take the edge off hte pain, my body would never have relaxed to open up to 10 cm. My midwife recommended it to me for this reason. I also had nonemergency surgery immediately following the birth (a whole other story) and I was glad I had the epi for this reason b/c I could at least stay awake during it and enjoy my daughter afterward. Even though I had the epidural, my baby was very alert and I breastfed her for 20 minutes immediately which was wonderful.
 
I agree with the above. Educate yourself on the options and go on with an open mind. I hate the numb feeling so decided to try to hold off on an epideral as long as I could. With #1 after being induced labor progessed quickly and after the pain peaked I asked for an epideral. I was already at 9 cm and told it was too late, which was great news for me. After about 3 pushes cames DD#1. With DD#2 I had the same plan. I had minor labor pains all day (still worked, had a friend over, exercised). Finally by eve. they peaked and hurt badly. By te time doctor examined me I was 9.5 cm. After a few pushes, no epideral out she came. I ,like Kate, had 2 easy deliveries. If I was like Katie or others whose labor kept going I would have gotten the epideral.
 
I didnt go into labor with any expectations of how i wanted it to go. I didnt do a birthing plan ect...I knew that things can change and I was going to see how it went considering I never had a child before. I had an epidural around 7 cm. I hadnt slept in 4 days prior to labor because of the prodromal labor I had. I was exhausted going into labor. I have to say that the stadol works really well for pain managment also. I ended up having a emergency c-section because his heart rate went into the 200's. I am glad i had the epidural because the doctor said that if the anesthesia didnt work as quick as it did they would have had to put me to sleep to do the section. Usually it doesnt work as quick as it did. I am lucky that at least i got to see my little one when he came out. dont let anyone tell you that you have to be a hero and go all natural. Do what feels right for you. you dont get any sort of reward for doing it with out the meds
 
I agree with alot of the comments above, I think you should be aware of your options, but keep an open mind! I know alot of women who go into labor, with alot of preconveived notions, birth plans, natural birth only, etc. The most important thing is a healthy mom/healthy baby, no matter how you get there.
 
I'm with the other posters when it comes to remaining open. I prepared with the Bradley Method for 12 weeks and I had my heart set on natural childbirth because I had read so much about how much harder it is for a "drugged" newborn to bond with the mother. I was terrified of this. Well, I spent 3 days in labor, my water breaking on the second day and the child sunnyside up (read dry labor/back labor). I went Bradley all the way up until the end of the third day and loved it. At the end of the third day I was stuck at a 7, and I was fatigued since I hadn't slept in 3 days. Pitocin was administered and what I could deal with up to that point in terms of contractions became unbearable. I endured a storm of contractions for several hours. Then I was discouraged by a medical resident who told me I wasn't very far along. He measured me at 1, but my doctor came in moments later and told me I was at 7! Anyhow, I couldn't take it anymore after 3 days and called for the pain killer. I was utterly discouraged by this point. Now the following statement comes from a natural foods/ natural health type person who says no to most medical interventions--I never felt so good and so relieved as when that pain killer took effect.

As for bonding, I ended up having a C-section and my son was at my breast within 25 minutes. He found it right away, and we have enjoyed a very loving feeding relationship since.

I went full circle from 3 days of natural childbirth to radical surgical intervention, drugs and all. Don't recommend it, of course, and didn't plan it this way. That said, everyone else in my Bradley class did fine and got the birth they wanted. I think it works most of the time, but you have to open and ready to act when something else is needed.
Manmohini
 
Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences, wow some of you really went through a lot!

I kind of just always figured I'd have an epidural, but lately I've been wondering if that's what I really want to do, but I'm due in 4 weeks and obviously he could come sooner so I need to hurry and figure out what I'm doing. I will stay open to the possibility that things will change and not go the way I expected. I might try to go without the epidural and if it's too painful then I can change my mind. From what I've heard most people that do that ask for the epidural in the end. I guess we'll see.

Thanks again,

Amy
 
Amy,
I had an epidural, but didn't get it until I was dialated to 7 (though I desperately wanted it earlier) with my first son. I was completely numb and felt absolutely nothing and had the most beautiful childbirth experience. I went into labor at 6:30 a.m. and delivered at 11:15 a.m. It was the best day of my life. In my opinion, epidurals are dreams come true. I did have a dip in my blood pressure after my son was born, and they had to give me something to bring it back up, but all was well. And my recovery time was very quick too. I had to have a C-section with my second son because they discovered he was breach (after they had already induced me and I was in heavy labor). I really was sad to have to have the c-section because I had such a great experience the first time.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top