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Well, I had kind of gone back and forth because I delivered our first baby on just Demerol, but she was only 20 weeks, so considerably smaller than a full term baby. However, LO was a breech baby, so I had to have a c-section and therefore an epidural. Next baby will be a c-section one too so I'll have another epidural. It was all good.

@loveisstrange: isn't there a time frame for when you can receive the epidural though? What if you finally decide you want the drugs and it's too late.

Like @loveisstrange: implies: my best advice is to plan to go natural and see how it goes. Labor unmedicated long as you can...

@glitter-then it's almost over at least? I got an epidural at 9cm so...*shrug*

Curious what I'll do next time if I'm not induced. Induction? Drug me up. Eta: never mind. Forgot about my sciatic nerves. Drugs plz

In the pro-epi column, if you'd like some variety of opinions, one of my good friends was just telling me how much she pink-puffy-hearted hers. She went into labor, went to the hospital and labored for a bit until about 10pm, got an epi and was able to SLEEP all night. She said it was the best sleep she'd had in weeks and would have for months. They woke her up at like 6am to push and her son was born at 8am. She said it was fabulous, very manageable, and she'd totally do it again.

@runnerd: your second reason was my biggest reason for trying natural. I read too many stories about intervention leading to more intervention. But I was still open to it if I needed it. I did end up asking for it, not because I couldn't handle the pain, but because I was afraid I couldn't handle it for a few more hours and then push. Turns out I was in transition so I didn't get it, baby was born med free less than an hour later.

@Glitter: if it's too late then you are already so close! One good piece of advice I got was "when you think you can't handle it any more, it's almost over."
@Mae: I don't know if it was endorphins or what but I felt pretty great after. I feel like that's hormones and adrenaline and most moms would get that, drugs or not? Don't know I only gave birth once

I was pro-epidural from day one but as the birth of my DD got closer, I started to wonder if I should try naturally. Once labour started, I worked through them for a while but knew pretty early on that once we got to the hospital, I was going to be asking for that epidural - screw the whole natural thing! It was another few hours before I went in and got a room but once I did, I wanted that epi ASAP and it was far and away, the best decision ever. It worked like a dream and made labour a happy, enjoyable experience. I only needed a bit of pitocin during the pushing stage as my contractions were ten minutes apart, but a tiny bit of pit moved things right along and I only pushed for an hour (and didn't feel anything during that stage either but was able to push effectively with the use of a mirror).

@Mae: To allay some of your concerns, I never felt even remotely sick with the epi, and was up and moving around within an hour and a half of giving birth. I had my hour of skin to skin time, then took a shower, and after that, I was mostly walking around, albeit with one leg still slightly asleep. I also felt the endorphins of having just given birth and was on a total high....without having to have gone through the hell of a painful childbirth! And as for not being able to move around once the epi was in, well, there was no need to move around as I couldn't feel anything and was perfectly content to lay in bed and have a nap, read a book, and just chat with DH and my midwife. Also, recovery was a breeze - I had a slight sore spot on my back for a couple of days but nothing else hurt and I never needed a single pain relief tablet throughout my whole postpartum phase.

Now of course I'm biased as I had a dream epi, but as the birth of my second child approaches, I am 100% committed to another epi. @runnerd: Don't let that documentary scare you, it tends to blow everything up to make natural birth sound like sunshine and roses, whilst making a medicated birth sound like you severely screwing up your birth experience. Do what's best for you in the moment!

I was in the wait and see camp. I knew it was going to be painful but I had no idea what it was going to be like. I ended up getting an epidural at 7cm. Two hours later I was fully dilated. So it didn't stall my labor at all. If anything it helped speed it up because I was able to relax a little bit. With our next one I'm going to take he same approach. I would like to go med free because I want to be able to move more freely during active labor (and hopefully avoid vomiting everywhere!) but I also know how much pain I can handle.

I did everything possible to have an unmedicated and I think that is the best way to prepare. Why not plan for an ideal? I labored for 17 hours and needed some more time (they needed me on iv for another hour) for antibiotics before pushing so at 9.5 I got a light epi. I could feel everything but it took away the horror and helped me relax that extra hour while I labored down. Then I pushed and there she was. I met her after three pushes. Would have been one but they coached me to "stop pushing!" I think they weren't expecting me to deliver that fast. That hour of the walking epi gave me a good memory and it all worked out perfectly. I feel happy I did a combo of both... unmedicated labor and medicated delivery. Yeah!

I had a massive hormone crash after birth and was shaking violently on the table for sooo long. They almost gave me medicine to stop it. Side effect of birth, had nothing to do with the epidural. So I did not experience any awesome elated feeling!

My Epi was awesome. Didn't make me feel bad, my labor progressed quickly-probably because I held off on getting it for awhile, all in all, positive here. And I was happy to have something to not make me hurt down there while I got stitches and stuff. Basically, you never know what experience you're gonna have, ha. I think your approach is great and the best you can do

I went med free for 20hrs (of back labor) until I ended up with a c section for fetal intolerance. It felt good to walk and move around. And it was a powerful feeling to know I was doing it without meds.

Eta: once I was numbed for the c section I wondered why I didn't get an epi - such a great feeling lol!

I was undecided when I went into the hospital, but leaning towards epi. I had back labor, and the only thing that eased it (contrary to everything I read online as I was going through it!) was lying down. So, no desire to wander for me!

I was 6cm when I was admitted, and got the epi soon after that since I wasn't sure how much more painful it would get (it was totally manageable when I got it, though). They broke my water after the epi and things progressed quickly from there.

I never had any nasty side effects from the epi. It didn't hurt at all going in for me. About the worst part was that it was uneven due to how they were making me lie in the bed to keep her heartrate happy, so I ended up with a window of discomfort on my left side. Never needed pitocin during labor (but they gave it to me afterwards to help my uterus contract). I was walking to the bathroom in a reasonable amount of time (an hour or so?). I had a pretty good recovery, though it hurt to get up out of bed for a while. I lived on motrin that first week ;).

All in all I have very good memories of my labor and delivery. I never once remember thinking "this is too much to bear," never cried or screamed.

I think if you want to go med free, you should try for it <3. Just like you never know how your birth is going to go, you don't know how your body will tolerate various things. I think that's the scariest part -- the unknown. Know that whatever you do, it was the best thing for you and the baby!

@Foodnerd81: Yeah! It wasn't an emergency c section. And the nurse told me to get it because they were considering the c section. So I did. I was ahead of the game.

If it would've been a true emergency, I would've been knocked out.

I feel like the epidural stalled my labor so I wanted to go med free the second time. I would highly recommend hiring a doula if you want to go med free. Mine did an amazing job with massage. This really helped me work through the pain.

@runnerd: I have always had an open frame of mind going into labor with no preconceptions regarding epidurals. I think every birth is different and some are "easier" than others allowing it to to go natural.

My birth was fairly complications free but it got to the point where I couldn't handle the pain any more. I'm glad I asked for an epidural because I ended up pushing for 2 hours with no progress, the doctor had to snip and give me stitches and use a vacuum to get baby out.

I will be going into this birth with the same of mind. No pressure on myself at all. My main focus is healthy baby and healthy mama.

Yes...but my situation was really different. Labor stalled when S passed, so they wanted to up the pitocin, so that I could get her out asap (to avoid prolonging anything). After 12 hours + of the pitocin not at the level it was at, and me begging them not to up it, they said either epidural or c section.

It was the greatest relief I ever felt. I even managed to sleep. I won't make myself be a martyr like that ever again.

I assumed when I got pregnant that I would get an epidural. Two books and a natural birthing class labor, I was set on a natural birth with as little intervention as possible.

So, I went in, knowing as a first time mom, things could change quickly and intervention *could* indeed be needed. I was in labor for a long time, but I did do it naturally! I feel very lucky that my labor went smoothly! It wasn't easy, but to me it was worth it. It's a beautiful thing to be able to let your body do it's thing! Just have to be realistic about it! Goal is always baby and mama's health and safety!

Oh-and I did ask for an epi at 8.5 cm, but my sis and SO helped me through it!

I'm not sure what I'll do for my second. With my first I was totally against an epi, and got one after 50 hours of back labor (along with low dose pit). It was the absolute right choice, and may have helped prevent a c section. Babe was really struggling after such a long labor, and I had to get her out fast. If I hadn't been able to rest, I'm not sure I would have had the ability to push her out.
It was awesome. Labor f-zing hurts. It's a tool, and there are lots of really good reasons to use it. I worry about it stalling labor, but I've read some recent studies that show it lengthens it by 15 minutes, on average.

For number two, I think I will be more open minded, and less scared/ judgy about intervention. And maybe I'll get lucky and have a super text book, straight forward labor and will decide against intervention. But I would make the choice I made with number one a thousand times over if the labor is similar.

Also, the way number one went down made me so, so grateful to be giving birth in a hospital. That's a whole other discussion. But I spent a lot of time during my pregnancy worrying about how my birth would go, wanting it to be empowering, etc. on the other side? Drug me up, strap me down, do whatever you have to do to ensure I walk away with a healthy baby. Having my kid totally changed my perspective about all of it. Knowing how much I could lose....anyway
I think your perspective is a good, grounded one to have.

The Business of Being Born freaked me out too but my experience turned out to be nothing like that. My doctor encouraged me to labor outside the hospital as long as possible but after 40 hours I'd had enough, went in, got an epi and delivered 6 hours later, with a little pitocin and 20 mins of pushing at the end. It was a dream! I am in love with anesthesiologists now.

If I were you I'd bring up your concerns with your doc and see what they say. I hated how that movie was so disparaging toward OBGYNs and modern medicine.

I second talking to your doctor as @hummusgirl said. There are medical studies that contradict the info in the movie that your doc can probably discuss with you.