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Nothing whatsoever, Maddie.

Great information, ladies! Do you think it is easier to do it naturally if you definitely plan to do it naturally? Is the epidural too tempting if you leave the idea open? Just a thought I've been wondering about. Thoughts?

Kristina, You are so right. My doctors tell me they think it's crazy to go through pain unless it's necessary. I know alot of women who say they are going natural until they hard labor hits. Everyone's pain tolerance is different also. I have been so fortunate to have very quick labors. I don't know if I could go 6-8 hours with no pain medication. With my second I had no choice. He was almost born in the elevator.

Hi, I had natural labor with my 3rd and almost with my 2nd... With my 2nd, I didnt have any pains till 30 mins prior to birth, but the nurse said it would be hours and the pains got real bad so I took something and she never checked me and I was already dialated to a 10.. REQUIRE them to check u prior to having pain meds, i know its uncomfortable, but pain meds while ur trying to push - isnt fun.. Now with my 3rd, i was in hard labor for about 3 hrs and i didnt take anything.. Honestly... i never noticed that the pain meds take a lot of the pain away... just makes u tired and want to sleep which prolongs the labor (like with my 1st) i took a lot of pain meds and it wasnt untill i quit taking them that my daughter was born.... I really suggest trying other methods besides pain meds..

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I experienced natural birth "on accident" with the birth of my second child. The epidural was not given to me properly. Causing the entire left side of my body to be left without feeling. It was also difficult to breath or speak. It was very scary. As a result, the epidural was removed immediately and by the time the baby was coming out, the drugs were gone. I did regain feeling the next day, but my left eye was droopy for a few days as a result of this. Point is, if you can find alternatives to drugs, it can be a more pleasurable experience for you and your baby.

I WENT ALL THE WAY THROUGH IT TOTALLY NATURAL AND I DON'T REGRET IT A BIT IT WAS THE BEST THING I COULD HAVE EVER DONE AND AM PLANNING TO DO IT WITH THIS BABY TOO. GOOD LUCK

Very interesting reading the flow of chat. Have done natural twice, meaning no meds of any kind, and am 34 weeks pregnant with third. Perfect scenario would be having pain meds that allow you to be alert and engaged in the birth and that allow you to be up and about as fast as natural. A little something to take the edge off, especially during transition, would be great. I haven't yet heard of that perfect med but, boy, would it be the best of both worlds. I might venture the opinion that if labor is extremely long and drawn out, I might go for some meds so that I could be functional once the baby is born and not pa__sed out in exhaustion. If it's going quickly, then by all means, tough it out and get it over with. Good luck!

I gave birth to my daughter almost 11 years ago, it took me that long to get over it and do it again. I was given an epidural that broke on the bed and left me pretty much on my own pain wise. They kept promissing me they would give me a local and, well, my daughter was out and being cleaned up when they walked in with the needle. There was just enough epidural to allow for my 2 stiches to be just a little uncomfortable. Because they used the epidural, I was not allowed to walk around for 12 hours, could not pee on my own, they made me use a bedpan. So, I was peeing in a bedpan, could not go to the bathroom to clean myself, you bleed and have a lot of uterine discharge after birth, I had to depend on the nurses to do this and well, they are not going to do as good of a job as I would like. Thank god my cousin came to the hospital at 11:30 that night, because as soon as they said I could walk, I was in the shower and washing away. I have decided that I pretty much did it with out the epidural the last time and my doctor is pretty sure I am going to go fast, I am going to go unmedicated so I can get back to normal as soon as possible. I am 36 wks presently and already at 3cm and 50%, I am scared to death, but I am strong. I am far to independant to be strapped to the bed and unable to take care of myself. This is a choice individual to every woman. I may try demoral if it gets to intense, which it was really intense the last time. The doctor even said my contractions where huge. I have had my gall bladder out so far and had pancreaitis with the pregnancy (had it with the first two) I would rather give birth then feel the pain from my pancrease and liver like that again. Good Luck to everyone in any and all of your choices.

I had an epidural and a c-section the first time and opted for a VBAC the second time with no drugs. Every woman in the world thinks they can't go on at about 8-10 centimeters. In knowing that, you will be fine and control your earge to use the drugs if you are motivated enough to do it drugless for yourself and your baby. My VBAC (Vaginal Birth After C-section) was amazing. My game face was on and I wasn't letting anything stop me from doing it naturally, as I feel it should be. What's most important is the health of the baby and your overall satisfaction with the birthing of your child. If you think you would regret it if you changed your mind then don't. I'm confident that you will be just fine. The pain only gets as bad as you can handle, especially if you are prepared mentally for one contraction at a time. It will be over before you know it and your beautiful baby will be here and in your arms- drug free.

Thanks for sharing your stories. So many strong women out there! Good for you! I will try it, and i will ask my husband to help me stay with my decision, but i will be flexible in my mindset. If I ask for meds, at least I will know I tried. This is all very premature- I'm not even pregnant yet. Keep sharing- I'm sure many women have the same concerns. Good luck non delivery day.

*****NEWS FLASH***** Vaginal birth with or without medication IS A NATURAL BIRTH. Do all of you honestly think to have a natural birth is to be WITHOUT medication?? Read a few more pregnancy books ladies!!! Natural means coming out of the v____a. With or without medication....you can't get more "natural" then that. Educate yourselves, and stop giving out wrong info to people........

*****GUESS WHAT*****A natural birth is one in which the labor is not artificially induced or retarded. The mother is not drugged and therefore her baby is not drugged. When birth is allowed to begin and progress naturally, the body provides many beneficial hormones for both mother and baby. Mother's are allowed to move about freely and eat and drink normally. An a__sisted birth will include one or more of the following: induction, augmentation, medications, epidural, forceps, vacuum extractors and episiotomy (the cutting of the v____a to enlarge the opening). Educate yourself...http://www.texas-midwife.com/natural.htm And learn your terms!

bump up for Desiree

Good to know.. thanks

Maddie natural birth is another term for v____al. I just had my baby v____aly with an epidural and stadol and anything else they would give me, at his one week checkup the dr asked me if I had him 'naturally' I was like no I had an epidural he said no did you have him by c-section or v____al? I had him v____al he said that means I had him natural, And as far as a slow labor because of drugs this one was even quicker than the last after the epidural it took 45 min to get to 10 cm from 2-4 took about an hour my mom and sister almost missed the whole thing I couldn't beleive it went so fast, I healed very quickly and had a great experiance just hangin out watching TV in between pushing