A
female
age
26-29,
anonymous
writes:These questions are for mothers who chose to have a natural birth with no pain medications. I am expecting my first baby this summer and i want to do it with out pain medications but my mother thinks i'm not strong enough to and iv hear some bad stories about it so i was hoping some people on here would have good stories to tell or be able to answer my questions, thank you. Did you regret choosing no pain medication?Was it better/worse than you thought it would be?Was it hard not to give in and get pain relief?what did you do to help ease the pain naturally? Reply to this Question
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female
reader, anonymous, writes (2 March 2014): I had twins, with no pain relief - wasn't planned like that, just the way it went. had excellent midwife who used to tell me my body was designed to give birth!
Tbh - they are teenagers now and I am so glad I had a birth without intervention.
A
female
reader, anonymous, writes (1 March 2014): I guess it depends on how long the labour is and what you class as 'no pain relief'. I know some people class having gas as no pain relief, where to me, no pain relief means no pain relief at all - not even paracetamol! I have friends whose labours were so quick they didn't need a thing, but mine have all been long and I've had gas and pethidine, except for my last birth - when I had absolutely nothing. It was a 7 hour labour and every minute was agony and I don't say this to frighten you - I say it because it was the most toe-curling, seemingly unending agony I've been through, ending with the baby being born shoulder dystocia (stuck by the shoulders). I left it too late and was not able to have any pain meds, but in your case, go for the pain free and just go with the flow, you may not need it, if you do you won't be the first.
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reader, anonymous, writes (1 March 2014): This is verified as being by the original poster of the questionThank you all for your help!!! i really appreciate every answer.
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female
reader, anonymous, writes (1 March 2014): My experience with natural child birth: unbearable pain that no human being should go through if there is a choice. I had no choice, I had my daughter in an awfull cruel country that I left soon afterwards, and I was not given meds to relief my pain. I still remember the delivery and I would never go through something like that again without meds. It was 13 hours of hell.
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female
reader, TasteofIndia +, writes (1 March 2014):
 I wanted to go for a medication free birth... I was doing alright, but the labor just kept going. So after about 12 hours, I asked for some pain meds - not the epidural, but just something to lessen the intensity. I could still feel the contractions, they just weren't nearly as strong. That was great! And while I felt like I 'gave in', I was pretty pleased that I had put up with serious contractions for 12 hours
But once hour 30 hit, they decided that I would have to get a c-section, which devastated me. Apparently my hips were a bit too narrow. I felt like a total failure. That was pretty hard to deal with... I felt like I was "less" of a woman, like I had failed at the one thing that women are supposed to be able to do. For the c-section I had to get the spinal epidural, which frankly was MUCH more painful than the labor itself!
Lucky for me, I had a great doctor and a fantastic midwife. I was freaking out on the surgical table, and my doctor said, "you're a director right? You do theater?" and I said, "yes..." and he said, "you like Shakespeare?" and he proceeded to recite the famous 'band of brothers' speech from Henry V as he sliced me open and retrieved my daughter.
A delivery AND a show. Worth it.
Anyway, just know that your baby will come along however he/she sees fit. Things might not happen according to plan - in fact, they probably won't. And there is absolutely NO SHAME if you go into it not wanting medication, but find that the pain is too much. Hey, if you can get through labor without any drugs - you're a total badass and good for you! But if you end up getting some meds, you're still a total badass. You created life. That's awesome.
(And just for the record, I found that labor was not nearly as horrible as I expected it to be... I hope your find the same thing.)
Congratulations and good luck!
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female
reader, Aunty Babbit  +, writes (1 March 2014):
 Just to add, labouring in water (and birth too if you like the idea) is a wonderful form of pain relief.
TENS machines (do not use in water) are excellent too if applied in early labour and used throughout the whole labour. This machine stimulates the release of natural endorphins and blocks the pain messages to the brain.
Yoga breathing techniques and meditation can be very useful when things get tough and keeps you grounded.
Background music can be soothing too.
Being in your own home can reduce pain and anxiety but should be supported and ok'd by your midwife.
These are all natural and drug free options :)
AB x
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female
reader, Honeypie + ♥, writes (1 March 2014):
 Find a good midwife or doula and talk over your fear and wishes.
I had my first two with epidural 12 and 8 hour deliveries - so not so bad - both BIG babies 9+lbs. I had NO pain medication for any of my 3, just he epidural and with #2 pictocin to keep the contractions going.
My 3rd baby the labor started so fast I didn't have time for anything. She was born 20 minutes after arriving to the hospital. She was smaller then the other two, 8.8. It wasn't that painful, to be honest my first two deliveries (even with epidural were more painful maybe because they were longer.) With #3 it was less then 4 hour from contractions started til she was born.
I had planned to have a water birth for #3 - we just didn't make it to the hospital in time. It supposedly helps a LOT with pain.
I agree with Anon female who said :***Have a plan, but also be flexible. Birth can be rather unpredictable.***
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female
reader, Aunty Babbit +, writes (1 March 2014):
As a mother of 2 and a retired midwife, you're not alone in wanting a natural birth.
Every birth is different, every woman will have a different experience with each child she has.
For each natural birth with a desired outcome there will be a story of what went wrong.
If you want a natural birth then I say decide what you would like and plan for it, no-one can say that your not strong enough to cope, of course you are!
As an experienced midwife though, I do think that when a woman's birthing experience does not go to plan, she can feel quite cheated and feel that she has in some way failed. This IS NOT the case and I believe it's because the control was taken from her.
I think that being in control of your birth experience is what is important so, with that in mind, I would say to you know what you want and what is available to you BUT also have some idea as to what choices you will make IF the birthing process is harder than you thought it would be or does not go to plan.
At the end of the day, pain relief is not there for weak women who can't cope. Labour can be long and very painful depending on the position your baby is lying in (in the uterus) and what part of your baby is presenting (coming out first) therefore it can benefit a mother to have some medication to help her cope with her labour.
As long as your baby is delivered safely and you are ok then I would say that was a fabulous outcome.
With my first child I had a wonderful relaxed 6 hour labour with a touch of gas and air towards the end and felt fabulous. My second child came in 45 minutes, it was very painful and I was hollering for an epidural (spinal analgesia) however there was no time and out she came!
Regardless of the differences, the moment I held my babies I couldn't have cared less what I had been through and would have done it all again in heartbeat just to have them.
Whatever you choose, just be sure that you're making an informed choice that is right for you and you know your options in case things don't go as planned.
I'm sure you'll be fine and will have a gorgeous bundle at the end.
I hope this helps and I wish you well AB x
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female
reader, jls022 +, writes (1 March 2014):
I just asked my Mum about this because she has had 3 natural births and she said she is so glad she did it that way.
She said it is definitely painful at the time, but afterwards the women who had epidurals all had a lot more tearing and stitches down there and were in a lot more pain afterwards than what she was. So she was really happy that she was able to do it without pain relief 3 times. She wasn't against pain relief though, and if it had become unbearable she said she'd definitely have give for it.
I think the best approach is to plan for a natural birth but have a backup plan in place in case you need it.
All the best and good luck :)
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female
reader, anonymous, writes (1 March 2014): My plan was to go natural two months ago with my first baby- I'm a nurse and quite knowledgeable of the birth process. I watched ' The business of being born' and was fully prepared to birth naturally. However, I was not prepared for the pain- it was like a sack of bricks hitting my abdomen/back/thighs. I could barely breath or think through the contractions. I agreed to have an epidural within hours. Honestly there was nothing to prove- I ended up being very comfortable and could even move my legs. Twelve hours later it was time to push. The epidural at that point stopped working on my right side so the pain was horrible, but 29 minutes of pushing and a daughter born, all pain was gone. I did refuse pitocin until the very end when I needed help pushing due to its high rate of complications such as c- section, tearing and hemorrhage. Have a plan, but also be flexible. Birth can be rather unpredictable. I hear water birth makes the pain more tolerable.
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female
reader, anonymous, writes (1 March 2014): I was very young when I had my daughter and I had a HORRIBLE midwife. I was not close to my mother at all, so I had no one really to discuss anything with. Not much information was 'out there' - this is only 26 years ago - there was no internet and I could only find a couple of books in the library. I was so confused and naive that I remember telling my husband (equally naive) that the baby did not come out of the vagina after all, but that there was a special 'canal' that magically opened for the baby to come out. And this is from a very intelligent, well educated young woman with zilch life experience.
As it was I asked for a natural birth and now I know the amount of women who are given caesereans I am 100% sure that I should have been given one. I am very small - size 10 or smaller - and the labour went on for 58 hours from the start of my early contractions, solely because my waters would not break. Everything else was happening but my waters wouldn't break and I was in so much pain and exhausted. The exhastion made it harder to cope with the pain and I honestly think that because I was so young they let it continue for so long. Also I was far too submissive with them and they took advantage. Looking back I feel angry that they asked for medical students to keep examining me - internally - and I was so naive that I didn't know I could refuse. I had no idea I could ask for a different midwife. When they did finally manually break my waters for me the baby came out within half an hour. What I distinctly remember is that they gave me a pethadin shot immediately AFTER she was born. This was extremely annoying afterwards as I'd gone through such a huge and long amount of pain and was then doped up when I finally got to see her. I was absolutely exhausted. I love my daughter but I somehow have never quite recovered from the trauma of this experience.
Overall I'd say that the pain is certainly something, nothing else like it. But for me it was the time that it went on for and the anonymous way that I was treated that has stayed with me. They said afterwards that the pethadin shot was to make me 'forget' the pain. But I just found this a stupid thing to say. I didn't forget the pain, or any of it.
In terms of coping with the pain the thing that I realised by myself beforehand, without anyone telling me, was that I would somehow have to 'go in' to the pain instead of fighting it. You simply cannot fight it because it's too great. You can't control it naturally except by accepting it and letting yourself enter into it and working with the pain, not against it. Other Mum's may have better suggestions re. water births etc, which I've no experience of. I would suggest however that if there are any other complications which make the birth go on for so long then ask for pain relief or even a caeserean.
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female
reader, Aunty BimBim  +, writes (1 March 2014):
 Mother of three children here, first birth I was knocked out .... came to and baby was born, second birth I was high as a kite, my doctor at the time believed no medical procedure should cause pain .... third birth, third doctor, no problems all the way through, long labour, but by the time I had decided I wanted the good stuff it was too late! haha.
I don't remember the pain itself, only the fact I did eventually ask for the drugs ... I don't have any regrets about any of the births. Your midwife or other staff members will be able to help you manage the pain naturally.
Just remember throughout your pregnancy, your doctor will give options, and advise, but it is always, every step of the way, your choice.
Congratulations and good luck!
Your mid wife and others assisting will be
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male
reader, CMMP +, writes (1 March 2014):
My wife had a natural birth for our first child, but it hurt so much that she didn't want to do it for the second child.
The second time around it was a lot easier, but even with an epidural there was plenty of pain. Normally there is less the second time around.
My wife is pretty petite, I'm not sure if that made a big difference.
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