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my water broke without contractions. i walked for 2+ miles to breakfast to get them going and labored at home until i threw up in the sink and realized i was in transition already. we got to the hospital 4.5 hours after my water broke and by the time i got checked, i was at a 9. i cried because i realized that i could do it med-free (which was my hope because i didn't want to deal with a cascade of interventions and i thought i could "control" the situation more if i let my body be in charge. but i wasn't married to the idea and knew i'd go in with an open mind). i was complete less than an hour later, pushed for 45 minutes and there was only one minute where i thought "i can't do this" and that's where my doula helped to get me through that!

all in all, i was very lucky to have a quick labor, but also to have the knowledge that i didn't have to go to the hospital right away and that if no one checked me, there was much less chance of infection! my OB didn't tell me to rush in and my desire for med-free made me explore other options before going straight in. i think by staying at home and walking (not in the halls of hospital with a timeline) that helped me relax and get labor going.

I had the perfect set-up to achieve an unmedicated birth - I read every book on it, took 12 weeks of the Bradley Method and practiced the exercises daily, had a doula, had a supportive OB and nurse team, but it wasn't meant to be. I had an asynclitic, posterior baby and I was in an undescribable amount of agony for 36 hours, before pushing for 4.5. My baby wouldn't engage at the proper angle no matter what we tried, so I had a (failed) epidural and vacuum assisted birth.

I voted "I got it" but I actually went into the whole thing thinking "I'll see what happens and decide from there"

I also went into it with a wait and see attitude. After laboring all night, I was only a 3.5 and I was throwing up with each contraction. I got the epi and was in heaven. Labor continued to progress really well and I got to a 10 in 3 hours. Then I was able to labor down and only had to push through 3 contractions and only needed one stitch. It was a really positive experience.

I went into both of my births with the idea of going med free, but definitely open to meds. With my first, my contractions started off so intensely, every two minutes, that I could not handle the pain. With my second, I wanted to try for it, had intense contractions from the get go again, requested an epi, but it was too late by the time the anesthesiologist showed up, so it ended up med free, but I would have taken the epi had I had time.

I was open to trying to go med free, but I wasn't adamant about it. I had an induction and after being in labor for about 12 hours I was asked if I wanted the epi and I agreed for several reasons. I hadn't made more than 1cm of progress the entire time, I was on pitocin and having pretty painful contractions, and baby was having a hard time being monitored (which is required on pit) so I wasn't allowed to move. Between not being able to move even to roll over, and constant interruptions from my nurse worried about DS's heart rate, there was just no getting away from the pain or figuring out how to cope with it.

And btw, I was one of those cases where as soon I got the epi my contractions got even stronger and more regular because I relaxed. Didn't help me much because I never dilated, but that's another story.

In an attempt to make a very long story short: I agreed to induction at 42 weeks. My cervix was not favourable, baby was too high for AROM after removal of Foley catheter, so we had go to pitocin and in order to get contractions into a regular pattern they had to jack it way above the usual maximum level. After hours of back-to-back, double-peaking pitocin contractions, I stalled at 5-6 cm. I was so very, very, very tired (this was around 7-8 pm and induction had started at 11 PM the night before with insertion of Foley catheter) and just wanted to be able to take a nap, so I got the epidural. It allowed me to relax and get to 9 cm, but then DD's heart rate started dropping precipitously with every contraction and I spiked a fever. Hence, a csection.

@birdofafeather: This sounds EXACTLY like me except when they checked me--- I was 3.5cm. WHA?! Throwing up, one on top of the other, crazy pain..... I stayed home a long time and thought I would be like a 5 at least.

@travellingbee: yeah, i was fully expecting to have much more to go through! who knows what i would have done if i was at 3.5 at that point! i had friends that went med-free for 24+ hours before getting the epidural and i think they are absolute rock stars because i didn't even go through that! i know how lucky i am!

I checked off three different answers because they all fit me! I did end up with a c-section (which had nothing to do with my epidural, there were issues with my son and he was in danger) but I caved and got the epidural even before that. I had been super against getting one, but the pain of labor was WAY more intense than anything I could have imagined - I mean, obviously I knew it was going to hurt. I knew it would be the worst pain of my life. And I know everyone's labor is different, but for me it was just unfathomable how bad the pain was, and nothing helped - the tub, massages/pressure points, the balance ball, visualizing...I now laugh at the thought of any of that actually helping with active labor pains. Early labor? Sure. Active labor? HAHAHAHA. Like PPs have said, my contractions were one on top of the other, and was throwing up and just writhing in agony - I felt like I'd lost all control of my body, and I couldn't get it back, it was just a constant agonizing pain. I still managed to get through about 14 hours of early labor and about 7 hours of active labor, but after only dilating 1cm during those last 7 hours, I couldn't do it anymore. The second I got the epidural my body relaxed, I started dilated incredibly quickly, and it was just amazing.

I don't have a set plan for next time - we'll just see how my body is progressing and I'll roll with the punches and figure things out as they go. But I will be much less hesitant to ask for the epi after how much it helped me last time.

I voted other for the same reason as @maybebaby. I was induced with pit but had no pain medications.

I had a Pain-Med Free labor (no eppi, gas etc.) and delivery but I was put on Pitocin so not completely med-free.

2 natural births

Edited to add more: I always went in with the intention of natural with the right to change my mind since it is labor after all. My first was a long labor but relatively painless up to 8 cm. I was exhausted and desperate but my doula and DH helped a ton and I made it to 10 cm. Pushing was my downfall, it took 4 hours (midnight to 4 AM), needed a vacuum at the end to push out my huge (8lbs 8 ozs, Im very petite) posterior son. The second time around everything was much quicker and I wanted to cave but the nurse and my husband helped me a lot and it was much faster, from check in to birth was only a little over 3 hours. I pushed for an hour still since I stink at pushing but yeah the 2nd time around was faster than pushing out my first,.

I voted "I ended up not having one and had a c-section" and Other.

With DS, he was breech and I had an emergency c-section, with DD I had an epidural because I was attempting a VBAC and my OB very strongly recommended having one in case of an emergency/uterine rupture.

I had a med free birth! I went in hoping for one but open to an epidural if I needed it. My birth story is here if you want the long story: http://boards.hellobee.com/topic/baby-foodnerds-birth-story

I stayed home as long as I could- first contraction was at 6:30 am, left for the hospital around 3 am. I hit 5-1-1 much earlier but the contractions weren't that painful so we waited (and midwife agreed). Same as you, I delivered with a midwife practice is a hospital. The drive to the hospital was seriously no fun but I never felt like I needed the epidural until I was in transition, and hearing I was almost done gave me the adrenaline to literally push through!