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-What to wear during labor and delivery- I wore a hospital gown and will be doing it again. I just feel like I don't want to waste money on clothes that are going to get yucky and ruined.
-Want to hopefully make it through labor without interventions- I'm no help here.... I wanted the epi.
- Finally, I am just hearing about the option of receiving a pain killer other than an epidural- When I first got to the hospital I wasn't progressing so they couldn't officially admit me and give me an epi that I so badly wanted. Instead they gave me a shot in my tushy.... I don't even remember what it was.... but I do know that it did nothing to help with the pain.

My hospital didn't provide the gown until after delivery, so I labored in what I wore to the hospital, a bra, long sleeved tee and my yoga pants. I eventually removed the bottoms and was just wearing the tee.

The midwives were super awesome, they actually regularly use aromatherapy during labor, so they put some lemon essence on a tissue for me to breathe in when we were trying to get labor moving a bit faster.

1. I started labor in a lightweight robe, a nursing bra, and underwear. As labor progressed, things slowly started coming off. By the time I received my epidural, I was in the hospital gown. Once I started pushing, I was basically naked.

2. The jetted tub was amazing; I strongly recommend water. My husband and nurse tirelessly massaged my back throughout the entirety of my labor. Leaning on someone while rocking through contractions was immensely helpful, as was the yoga ball.

2. I wanted a natural labor, but went from 0-60 due to being induced at 42 weeks. I was given a microscopic amount of fentanyl in my IV to help take the edge off. It did nothing to relieve pain, just made me a bit drowsy, which enabled me to take tiny power naps between contractions. I won't opt for it with subsequent children - it wasn't sufficient in relieving any pain, and I wasn't entirely comfortable with my choice, to begin with - just clouded by pain.

I was happy to wear the hospital gown because labor and delivery can get kind of messy and I was happy not to have to worry about messing up my own clothes.

I would definitely do more research on narcotics. They transfer to the baby where as the epidural doesn't. I felt MUCH more comfortable getting an epidural than IV meds.

I wore the gown and hated it. Wish I had brought something else actually. I would wear a tank top and panties - then just take the bottoms off after awhile! I am modest as well but all that went out the window while in labor!

I actually ended up taking off the gown because it was uncomfortable and kept getting stuck. I wanted to do skin to skin anyway so I figured it was easier.

1. I wore the hospital gown once I got to the hospital. The majority of my labor was at home and I was in the shower (see answer to #2). It was comfortable enough, easy to nurse in post-partum, not scratchy, etc. It wasn't like I was up and walking around much post-baby so it didn't bother me afterward either.

2. Warm water for me. Laying in a tub - not at all good for me - but standing in a warm shower was great and got me through the majority of my labor. Other than that I didn't want sound or anything around. I think the biggest reason I was able to go un-medicated was that I wasn't induced and I labored at home as long as possible. If I'd gone to the hospital they would have done monitoring and other interventions based on what I heard when I was in labor triage when we got there (my BP was high [I was in labor - no kidding it would be high] and it freaked them out).

3. I have no idea if I would be okay with a narcotic vs. an epidural so I can't share any input there. I went un-medicated.

@tillma: I just wore the hospital gown because it was easiest!! As far as stuff that worked for pain management, sadly not much worked for me. I have ears wonderful things about laboring in a tub though :). Lastly, I had a shot of morphine to avoid the epidural. It didn't work for me, but apparently that's possibly bc the dose wasn't big enough for my body (I'm 5'11" and was about 250 lbs when I delivered my LO). Anyways it's supposed to make you feel drunk, so you still feel pain but aren't as bothered by it. Do you know if nitrous oxide is an option? I had some luck with that and did end up avoiding the epidural

- i was wearing something random when we arrived at the hospital, and was asked to change into nothing but the hospital gown. i really didn't care at that point and remember just dropping items of clothes on the floor as i stumbled around and didn't care who picked them up or what happened to them haha :). at some point i wasn't wearing anything at all anymore but i totally don't remember how that happened!

i didn't plan any music/dim lights/aromatherapy etc and for me being in the water didn't help (plus i didn't have much time to try it properly --!). for #2 i'm not planning anything either because really i was in so much pain i don't think anything would have helped hehe (i'm not sure why i'm laughing now...... at 37 wks with #2... oh man...)

they offered some laughing gas to take off the edge when i arrived at the hospital but all it made me do was throw everything in my tummy up IMMEDIATELY. i think people react differently, though!

in the end i got an epi at 9.5-10cm and it was glorious! pushing was almost 'fun'! and the epi was only in for about an hour (20 mins to rest after getting the epi, 30 mins to push, and 15 mins to stitch me up).

I wore a long dress style night gown for the first half of my labor. I REALLY cared about what I was wearing, and I'd suggest honoring your feelings if you do too. At some point I stopped caring and just got the hospital gown for ease, and then nothing at all for pushing. But I really cared, up to a point.

My midwife described narcotic pain medicine in labor as 'a bandaid on an open chest'. I didn't opt for them, so I have no personal experience, though.

I had pretty much the same ideas/goals, and now that I've been through unfortunately my answers aren't going to be super encouraging, but they are realistic - great to have a plan, so long as you don't get so fixated on it that you're going to end up upset with your birthing experience if your strategies and natural things don't go well - healthy baby is most important!

But anyways, modest me ended up totally naked instead of wearing the cute nightgown or robe I bought for the occasion (although I wore the nightgown after labor instead of a hospital gown, so it wasn't a total waste!) - this is very likely to happen if you use a tub at all, because taking clothes on and off while dealing with that level of pain can be pretty impossible. I made a labor playlist but I (and most women I know) didn't want any music once active labor kicked in, it was the opposite of helpful. Nothing helped me for more than a few seconds, but the things that worked temporarily (hopefully they'll be longer lasting for you!) were the birthing tub, exercise ball, and massage. My midwife said that as far as the painkillers go, she didn't feel that there was really much of a point unless you went with something strong like the epi - she likened it to taking aspirin for a broken bone, it's typically just not going to be strong enough to make a difference you'll notice or feel.

I wore the hospital gown with a Coobie bra and the fancy mesh undies and giant pads for most of my labor (they broke my water in the beginning). It wasn't super comfy, but it worked. Once my contractions were really going, I could care less who saw me.

As far as narcotics go, I tried one before agreeing to the epidural and I honestly hated it. The weaker, less painful parts if my contractions were numbed by it, but I still felt the peak of each one. It also made me feel so so drunk. The room spun and I was rambling about how drunk I felt forever. I was even afraid to fall asleep because I was convinced I would stop breathing if I wasnt thinking about it. My whole body felt disconnected and it just was not an enjoyable experience. The epidural was amazing in comparison.

I bought a $7 strapless cotton dress from Walmart, and wore that for the majority of my labour. It covered everything, and was easy to pull on and off. However, when I finally needed an apidural, they put me in a gown- totally comfortable, and by that point I didn't care what I was wearing.

As far as intervention-free goes: for the first 45 hours of labour I used breathing techniques, a TON of time in the shower, swaying and rocking through contractions, and an awesome playlist. The tub did nothing for me, but only because of the back labour (I couldn't stay still). Before I got the epidural (I stalled with a swollen cervix at 8cm), they tried sterile water injections (may have been helpful- I was too tired at this point to know), and we also used the nitrous oxide gas. Had labour been professing normally, these may have been enough.

Narcotics weren't offered to me; although I sort of demanded an epidural at the end, so maybe it might have been an option. I'd just recommend doing your research really well before agreeing/deciding on anything.