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I think it has a lot to do with mental preparation. With my first I wanted the epidural, I got it after labor was almost over and didn't push well. With my second I left it open as an option to have an epidural but prepared myself for the pain better. I didn't have the epidural and my labor was shorter and only pushed for about 30 min. I had pitocin with both so if this happens to you be prepared for the quick onset of the strong contractions, if not it will take you by suprise and it is hard to get through it once that happens.

I think with most first time mums you just get so over welmed by the pain that you start to panic.. I know that I did and then the wonderful word "pain relief" is offered and you go for it... I was very groggy and out of it with my first labor and cant remember a lot of it... so with my second one i opted for an all natural birth... and it was so much better... I knew what to expect and asked specifically not to be offered pain relief at all.. (not that the midwives listerned to me) after the birth I was hypo from all the natural endorfins running around my body... I felt like i could run a marathon... I didnt notice much difference in the pain side of things... they both hurt as much as eachother it is just that I was prepared so much better for the pain... and knew that my body could do it...

I was in labor for over ten hours and didn't ask for any pain relief, whatsoever, and I'm proud of the fact I didn't..I really wanted to do it all natural, it was the twist of fate that after 10 hrs, the amniotic fluid turned green indicating the baby was distressed, plus I wasn't dilating fast enough, so I ended up getting a cesarian. If I could, I would try to go all natural again, the pain is really bareable and you can look back on it all as the greatest challenge and experience of your life! (My major concern was the baby's health, that's why I didn't want any pain relief)

I truly think if you can stay focused then you will be fine. Ya, it hurts, but what an empowering experience. I asked for an epidural, but my son came before the epidual came. I WILL next time do it drug free again. As soon as it was time to push, things felt better. You truly do push through the pain and I hear that pushing is faster without an epidural because you can tell what you need to do when you need to do it!!!

well this is my third pregnancy and i am definately gonna go all natural. See for the first one i had epi,, turns out while in the position for the epi i had dialated from 3cm to 10 so i never felt the effects till after baby was born. For the second baby i dont know if the anesthiologist was new or what but it took sooooooo long to put it in and he had a hard time. I ended up with 7 holes in my back cuz of it.I got to feel that one that time for about 10 mins before baby was born. But after baby was born i had what was called the epidural headache. They kept me an extra day in the hospital. I couldnt do anything without feeling really sick. As long as a laid completely flat i was fine but that didnt help to take care of my son. They told me the only way to get rid of it was to either get another epi or let it ride out. Well there was no way that i was getting another epi so i waited it out. I was in bed for about 4 days at home before i could start to function! So needless to say.. i dont wanna take that chance this time! I am gonna try sitting in the position you have to sit in to get the needle and breathe, cuz i honestly think thats what helped!

I used the Bradley method when I had my son. I would highly recommend that you read "Husband-Coached Birth" by Dr. Robert Bradley. His approach makes labour much easier. There is also another book on the subject but I have to look it up at home. Let me know if you are interested. The doctors were all very skeptical about me not having an epidural and the nurses kept pushing it on me, but I did just fine without it. I pushed for exactly 7 minutes! Also, I drank red respberry leaf tea starting on the 35th week. It is supposed to make your uterus stronger so your contractions are more productive (speeds up labour) and you push the baby out faster. Natural is great for you and baby.

I used absolutely no method just did it all naturally. I was scared mind you because with my first I was in labor for 27 1/2 hours and it was not pleasant I only had demerol with him and the gas. This time I went in and just tried to keep thinking of different things. I laughed basically through the whole thing. I was in labor for three hours but it was an amzing experience. I just kept changing positions to something that made me more comfortable at the moment I would get my contractions at the end I almost had demerol only cause I thought I had many hours to go and they were beginning to be annoying contractions. But I went really fast so I did not even have time. I pushed for about 20 minutes to a half hour. While I was pushing I was planning the next baby.LOL I felt so good afterwards though. I was just ready to go. It was nice cause i was not tired or anything it was 12:30 in the morning too. I got to spend lots of quality time wiht my little man. Of course I ordered a pizza right after I was starved. I hope this baby I will be able to do the same thing. This time Im scared again cause my youngest is only eight months old and I am already almost 9 weeks scary still fresh in my mind I guess.

The pain is very overwhelming. I didn't have much in the way of memtal/emotional support so I caved and got the epidural. I had a good experience with it...but not everyone does. I wish that I could have done it naturally and I know that I can the next time because I know what to expect. Not to scare you but my own labor hurt so bad (before the epi) that I could have cut off my own finger and it would have hurt less! But every woman feels pain differently and I do believe that some labors are not as painful as others. Good luck-- you can do it Momma!!

My sister had an epidural with the first child, and only demerol with the second. She said that she preferred the second, because the epidural made her groggy for the next week; she simply did not recover from birthing as quickly as she did with the second. When I asked her which way she would go if she had to do it again, she said naturally, no epi.

I honestly think it is an individual thing and as long as you go into it with an open mind you'll be fine. I had Nubain with my first and it was pretty smooth (still very painful of course) but my dd was sleepy after and apgar wasn't great. My second was supposedly going to be very quick since I got to the hospital at 5cm and progressed quickly to 7. It wasn't, and my dd was posterior and there was "no time" for meds. Doc started threatening c-sec because her heart rate was dropping from the stress. 6 hrs after getting to the hospital I finally had her and guess what? She and I were instantly perky (wow!) but we both slept through that night (oops!). I can say it was an experience that kept me from having any more children until just recently (6 yrs later). I hope I NEVER go through that again. My hubby and I are ttc now but I'm really scared about how they'll get the baby out! :) You get to a point where it becomes too late so listen to your body.

My advice for any woman that would like a natural childbirth is to take a course that teaches natural methods of pain relief. My husband and I took Bradley cla__ses, which taught me to move around during labor and to try different positions to relieve the discomfort. This DEFINEITLY helped. If I had simply laid on my back throughout labor, I don't think I could have done it naturally. Women weren't designed to just lay there during chidbirth. In fact, laying on my back was the only position that was unbearably painful! I had to be either on my hands and knees or hanging with my arms around my husbands neck for support. I also walked a lot. It was really the best experience of my life. It made me feel very empowered as a woman to take charge of my own childbirth, as opposed to letting doctors/nurses make all the decisions for me. I also really wanted my daughter to be born alert, rather than groggy from the epi. It was a truly beautiful moment when she first looked in my eyes!