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Hey girl! Good question! I'm hoping to go unmedicated as well and I"m hoping that some people will post their experiences...bumping this up.

I had both my children without any medication and as painful as it was, it wasn't too bad. Good luck with whatever you decide!

oh, I almost broke down with my first one, but in the end, all I took was a breathe of laughing gas AFTER she was born.

i was determined to go all natural with my labor, but i broke down and had an epidural. i usually have a very high tolerance for pain, but i absolutly could not stand the contractions. i have never been in so much pain in my life. i'm not trying to discourage you, don't get me wrong. i applaud you for you effort, and you will get a standing ovation if you make it through, lol. people don't understand what women have to go through. now we know why so many women didn't survive child birth a hundred years ago. so if you can't make it...no shame. we feel your pain....trust me.

Best of luck Pregnant76. You can do it if you're very determined. I am hoping to do this as well. This is my first baby and I know it will be tough. DH and I are reading up on the Bradley method and it teaches some good breathing techniques, etc. I'm not close minded about the epi though...I will have to see just how big of a wuss I am, but by all means it can be done!!! :) My grandmother had all 4 of her kids w/o anything and at HOME! wow!!

I have 2 daughters one was an over intervened hospital birth and was very disappointing and I was depressed afterwards. My 2nd daughter was born at home last month. A quick labor and beautiful and healthy birth. I read many home birth stories and books written by midwives (Ina May Gaskin is amazing!) I learned so much and was so empowered and I strongly believed in my strength and mother nature. Remember pain meds are only a thing of the last century. How do you think woman did it for the last hundred thousand years!?! We need to remember giving birth is OUR thing and don't let yourself be convinced otherwise.

hey i did had a few complications but still managed it good luck xxxxx

My mom had all 4 of us w/o any meds not because she is against them or trying be be all natural, she says that she just didnt need them, and all of us were over 10 pounds. We will see if I need them or not.

I just had my baby on April 22 and I swore up and down that I wanted an epidural as soon as they would allow it. Well, the baby ended up coming faster than expected- leaving no time for an epideral or anything. I'm glad that I was left without a choice. I was forced to realize that I could do it with out pain medication! I can honestly say it wasn't that bad and when I have my next baby I won't plan on an epidural. You can do it- good luck!!

I have had all three of my children natural and feel so great afterwards. Like I accomplished something that doesn't happen much anymore. It was painful but in the end when they give you your baby, you forget about it all. My first was 10.2 oz and he was stuck for 2 hrs but if I would have had an epidural the doctor said I would have most likely had to have a c-section because I wouldn't have been able to push as hard. After that I was determined to do my others the same way.

I am also trying to have my son all natural. I havent heard too many success stories of women delivering without medication (unless they were too late to receive any :-)) But I'm really hoping I can make it all the way through! Good luck to you though! Stay strong.

i went natural and i strongly advise getting a doula. some even charge on a sliding scale based on your income. or at least have some one who has been there and will encourage you. i labored mostly at home in the bathtub but since i had been up most of the night before and was laboring all night i was exhausted and wanted to know if it was almost over so i went to the hospital they said i was at a 5 and i nearly lost it. i kept crying "i don't want an epidural...but i'm so tired i can't keep going....this isn't what i wanted" my doula kept encouraging me and so did the nurse. they offered to break my water to speed things up which i would have declined but it was better than an epidural to me and it worked, i immediatly entered transition and 30min later was ready to push. as soon as i began pushing the contractions stopped hurting and 10min later my son was born. it was terrifying at times (as i kept falling asleep and contractions would startle me and i'd panic...but relaxation techniques really work as long as youre awake to use them haha) and it is my fondest memory. my mom said after "there you did it next time you can get an epidural" i considered it for a minute and said you couldn't pay me to take that epidural. thank god for my doula and nurse cause when i gave up she wouldn't let me....maybe cause i threatened her life if she let me give up...hmm. well next time i would be more rested, i would go to sleep the second i felt those period like cramps cause eventually they are too strong to sleep through, and my best friend who delivered naturally a month before me(and more easily than me) advised me to try hypnoBabies (not hypnobirthing, its different) next time as it worked wonders for her(she describes birth as like running a marathon...just tiring, and you wanna give up and take a nap but then you see the finish line and get a second wind, wish mine was more like that and less painful)so i definatly wanna try it. if i were you i'd picture my ideal birth and go from there. i did NOT want to be told how to push (that hold your breath count to 10 c___p is called a Valsalve manuever and is dangerous for you and baby) and i wanted freedom of movement, i wanted to choose my own position not be confined to my back because i'd lost control of my legs, i had nointerest in getting a catheter, and i didn't want to risk possibly creating the need for more intervention. you should check out the book birthing from within i found it very helpful epidural or not. that said, it is your birth and your baby. my strongest advise would be to do your research PAIN CANNOT KILL YOU and there are NATURAL WAYS TO REDUCE OR STOP PAIN and as long as you and baby are healthy, you have made the right choice and accomplished something spectacular. god bless

I went into my first pregnancy intending to do no drugs. The contractions were painful, but not anything I couldn't work through. I threw in the towel and asked for "something" when I started to dry-heave. Pain I can handle - nausea, I am no good at. If it hadn't been for that I may have gone the whole way w/o meds. This time (due in 3wks) I'm just going to get the epidural LOL I already wimped out once. I did tell my OB that I wanted to wait as long as possible and just enough to take the edge off. :-)

I have four children, first one with pethedine, given too late so I jsut threw up, didn't do much for contractions. Second was a bit o gas but ofter the first couple of breaths I was way dizzy and almost blacked out so I stopped. Thirs and fourth were natural, both being precipent labours, 45 mintues and 25 mintues - didn't have much choice anyway - one being born in the car, the other on our bed at home by DH. I have very fast labours, so meds aren't much good to me, (don't know if they work so well either) because I'm dialted to 10 in just minutes, but I'm sre if I had longer labours, I'd be wanting something strong. I wouldn't do epidural by choice, but honestly, each labour is totally different. Some feel major pain (my last two, basically one long contraction, pain never stopped until birth), and some women I know barely feel anything and deal with the pain they DO feel well. I honestly know one woman who doesn't feel a thing, and has to be hospitalised two weeks before her EDD, constantly checked beforehand to be there when going into labour. HEr body doesn't produce the natural stimulus, and cuts off the nerves as wel - oh no, wouldn't want that!!! Just deal with the contractions as they come, and stick to your plan of natural childbirth. If you feel you have to change and get meds, then do it. See how you go first, and have your birthing plan written up for when you change your mind, so the nurses and doctors know your wants.

I did it all natural and i'm SO glad that I did. You CAN do this. There are lots of threads on this board about not using any pain medication. I'm bumping up a thread calling "considering doing it naturally.." that has a lot of good advice. I think half the battle is WANTING to do it medication-free. I also made sure my doctor and nurses knew I didnt' want any pain medication, so they never offered it to me. They told me if I REALLY wanted something, I should ask. I never asked. I was up and walking half an hour later and had a really easy recovery. Good luck!

I planned a natural birth and had one. I can't say it was easy by any means. It was extremely painful at times, but I think it made pushing easier. When it was time to push the pain from contractions went away, so I was looking forward to pushing. I am so glad I went through with it, I had a very fast recovery and my baby was alert for over two hours after birth, it was great!!! I know you can do it, especially if I can, I recommend it.