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I think if you post this on the third tri board you may get some responses. I myself had an epidural the first time and plan to again, so I can't be of any help.

Hi royalpoinciana I had a completely natural water birth with my ds who was 9lb 3oz (#2) & yes it was hard, but compared to the birth of my dd 7lb 9oz (I used gas & pethidine) it was sooooooooooooooo much better, & the most empowering feeling I've ever had to know my body did it by itself. I found the pain quite manageable for the majority of the labour, & it was only at the very end that I thought I couldn't cope, which is completely normal as you near the end. I remember having the feeling of wanting to give up with my dd just before I needed to push, so when I started to feel that with ds I knew I was close, & I KNEW I could do it. I highly recommend the use of water whether it be the shower or bath, as it is very relaxing & the warmth makes the pain ALOT more bearable. Also stay upright & leaning slightly forward as much as possible (eg, sitting, standing, squatting, kneeling etc) as this helps the contractions work more efficiently & makes them less painful then if you were lying down, as your uterus doesn't have to work as hard. If you want to move, move. If you want to make noise, make noise, don't worry about anybody else just do what feels right & listen to what your body wants & whatever you do, don't fight the contractions, just go with the flow. In the weeks leading up to the birth do as much forward leaning as you can to help the baby be in the best position for birth, & try to avoid any positions where you are reclining backward (like an armchair or rocker). Make sure everyone who will be at the birth knows exactly what your wishes are BEFORE you go into labour, as how they act & what they say can have a big influence on how well you cope with a natural labour. I am currently 15wks preg with #3 & plan on having another natural labour, as even though it was hard, it was the most wonderful experience & the recovery time was much quicker (I was home within 24hrs of giving birth). You will probably have people tell you HOW horrendously painful their labour was, but don't listen to them. Of course its hard & its painful (they don't call it labour for nothing) but it is doable & to be honest it only gets really painful just at the end not long before you push out the baby, so don't worry too much, & keep the end goal in mind - the birth of your baby. Goodluck & I hope you get the natural birth you want, it is so worth it :)

I didn't have a completely natural birth but that had been my goal. I had a shot of nubane, no IV. Remember that what I believe is called the transition phase is the hardest (going from either 5-6 or 6-7). This is when I got my shot. I was rather uncomfortable and wanted to rest. I was never in a lot of pain. When I felt the need to push it hurt more not to push than it did to push. I have also heard that the pain of contractions has some correlation with how bad your period cramps are.

Oh I forgot to mention that my labour was 8hrs with ds. dd was 12.5hrs, which the doctors told me could have been shorter had the pethidine not put her to sleep & slowed everything down.

I will give birth at a hospital setting, that means I will be laying on my back I guess. We will visit the facility and hope to get a better idea... One more thing, I am 26 weeks and still doing yoga, swim and (light) weight training, I have been excercise for 15 + years so I hope that helps too... Thanks ladies and congrats to you all!

Royalpoinciana~ I have had three children all natural births. They were all in a hospital setting. I did feel the hot water was the biggest help. I went from 2 to 9 in a matter of 1hr in water with my 1st. The others weren't as fast but my longest was 4 hrs. I feel the water helped with each. My 4th is due Oct and we are hoping to deliver at a birthing center. An epidural isn't an option there you would have tp be moved to the hospital. I'm a bit nervous but I've never needed 1 and hope not to need one this time. I feel that if you have the mindset that yes you are going to be in pain, but the pain will go away it helps. Good luck!

Depending on where you live, hopefully you won't have to be on your back to deliver just because your in hospital. I'm lucky to live where I do in Australia as most of the midwives at the Brisbane hospital where I gave birth, believe in letting you give birth how you want (as long as there are no complications). With dd I gave birth on my left side & that was in the normal labour ward. With ds I was lucky to get into the birthing centre inside the hospital & gave birth kneeling in the tub. Hopefully you will get to birth freely & yes being fit & healthy will help with the stamina needed during labour. Goodluck.

I had the same goal with my first and accomplished it with flying colors. I'm small and narrow in the hips and had reason to worry so to speak, but knew I could do it and did. I often wondered what the contractions felt like before I ever knew. I can tell you for me, I can best describe them as a charlie horse in your stomach times 1,000. I don't know about anyone else, but I was yelling in pain like a lunatic. Total lunatic but I wanted to get through it without an epi and did. They gradually get worse and worse and mine started out 5 minutes apart so I started out as gangbusters from the beginning and the total labor was only 4 hours with one push and he was out. The worst part is RIGHT before you get the serious overwhelming urge to push. I don't remember pushing even really hurting at all. It's the contractions but what totally got me through them was knowing that each contractions is timed and temporary. I would look at the monitor and count the seconds knowing it was going to end soon. It's all temporary! I think you're making a good decision and you will get through it just fine. I find there's a lot of mind over matter to it. I had no clue about anything with my first, just had the confidence that I can do it. I'm due again in September and now that I know what it's like, I'm scared this time! I want to do it again without an epi I just have to keep putting the thought of labor out of my head cause it's too much to think about. Just go with it all. Your body knows exactly what to do.

I think your being active right now is very good for you and the labor process too. I gave birth in a hospital. One thing Lamaze never taught us that you have to do that I didn't know, so heads up, is to have to pull your legs/knees up to your chin when you push. I didn't expect that for some reason and was moving very awkwardly before I got into that position. I also remember the pushing part feeling like you had to go #2 times 1,000 and the harder you push, the faster he/she will come out. I know you're supposed to hold back when they say but I didn't see how that was possible. I needed a single st_tch by the end of the whole thing and both my baby boy and myself were alert as can be.

Not all hospitals/doctors make you pull your knees to your chin to deliver. I was on my side and just held on to my thigh to be able to push correctly and efficiently.

Thanks for the positive comments and wonderful experiences that you shared. They help boost my confident (yeay!). Yes, it’s the mind over the body thing! My goal is simply to experience the event in its true state, as my grandmothers & my mothers did. My strategy is try to stay calm, relax and think of it as -only a few hours in my entire life time- Also my husband, my mothers & most of my friends support me on this decision, so that’s very important to me. I sure we all watched the news and saw some women had unexpected deliveries in public places, or somewhere in Africa, women there don’t have the luxury of giving birth in a hospital setting… so there we go - Girl power! BTW, I recommend the movie “The business of being born” by Ricky Lake. Good luck to you all

I had an induced birth with my first (medically essential) and a natural water birth with my second. The water birth was much better and would be my choice again if I planned another baby. I found the pain similar in both - it was agony for me - but you get a few minutes to recover each time and the worst is definitely at the end when you are pushing. I probably experienced more pain than I needed to as I didn't realise I needed to push - I'ld read when you feel the need to push the first time don't push but actually I needed to push as it turned out the baby's head was only a finger away and must have been there for a while! I think my baby loved the water birth too as much as you can tell - came out very calm. Hope it goes well.