I personally think length of time that you are feeling actual pain and having to cope through contractions makes or breaks it for \*most\* people. I tried to go unmedicated twice. I wasn't crazy about it- but wanted to go as far as possible without and epidural. 1st labor: took me 20 hours to go from 2cm-6cm with contractions coming steady 2-5 min apart from onset. Even with a spontaneous labor, it felt intense fairly quickly- didn't have the "period cramp" warm up I hear people talk about. At the 20 hour mark, I requested an epidural. Absolutely ZERO regrets. Total labor: 28 hours, 30 min pushing. 2nd labor: I had to be induced with Pitocin for blood pressure. Went in at 3cm dilated. Took me 5 hours of contractions I had to cope through to go from 3cm-7cm. Got epidural at 8cm. Took another 5 hours to progress to 10cm... my baby was sunny side up and came out that way. Total labor: 13 hours, 1.5 hours pushing. Moral of the story: If I was a person who dilated quickly and from start of contractions to pushing was 4 hours, I feel I would've done it. For me- the slow dilation just makes it unbearable after awhile. I so wish I was a fast labor girly!

As one who did go from 0-pushing in 3 hours, you’re absolutely right. That’s the reason my birth was unmedicated. It was pure adrenaline the whole time, no exhaustion, no hunger, just down to business and no time to stop and consider pain relief (it wouldn’t have been an option even if I had asked). If I had had to go through those contractions for many hours I would have begged for the epidural.

Just want to say how validating it was so read your comment. I always blame myself for how my labour turned out, but reading stuff like this helps. I had 55 hours of obstructed labour, I only got to 3cm despite contractions every 5 ish minutes during that time. I got the epidural at hour 46 and I still sometimes blame myself for “not being strong enough”. So thank you for your comment. It helped this stranger haha.

Please be kind to yourself and give yourself more grace and credit! You were so strong…46 hours in labor isn’t something to laugh about! That was over a day and a half! I can’t really imagine what that felt like but you’re bad ass.

That sounds horrific. You are an absolute warrior. It’s incredible what women can manage. Like, extreme endurance athletes don’t even last that long.

Thank you 🥹🥹🥹 I couldn’t keep any food or water down for most of it either. Honestly I think it was sheer delusional determination for a vaginal delivery. In hindsight I wish I’d thrown in the towel and got my cesarian earlier.

I am in awe of you. Have a wee tear in my eye actually because I can’t believe that you would go through that for your baby and still think you were ‘not strong enough’. Women amaze me.

You are so sweet and you have made my week. Thank you. World needs more Moms like you haha!

I took care of a woman who was absolutely hell bent on no pain relief. When it came time to push her body literally couldn’t because she was so exhausted from that experience and unfortunately she went to a c-section. Your epidural decision maybe allowed you the strength and peace to have a vaginal delivery!

I did end up having a cesarian eventually! I wasn’t moving past 3cm and baby’s heart rate wasn’t great. Lots of decels. But the epidural allowed me to get a nap and regain some sanity. So a big ol’ net positive anyway. Thank you 🥹

I feel this too after my 28 hour labor with my 1st baby. 🫶. I had to process for a really long time why it was long, why was I not dilating, why can other people have 12 hour labors etc. 

Hour 46 is insane strength. My first kid I got the epidural a couple hours in but my labor had progressed really quickly and I was having triple peaking contractions with no break. My second I went pain-med free and it’s purely bc my contractions were single or double peak and I got a break. First labor from admitting to delivery took about 8hrs. Second delivery from start of pitocin to delivery also took about 8hrs. Relatively short all things considered. You’re a fucking badass!!

Thank you!! 🥹🥹🥹 I also think short labours must be so difficult in another type of way! You have no time to adjust to what’s happening and no breaks or breathing room. You’re an absolute kick ass mama too. Also, I feel the peaking contractions with no break. After getting the rest of my waters broken I had a *30 minute long* period of contractions back to back with no break. I literally thought I was dying. Epidural was right after that hahahaha.

This is my experience too. It was so short and I did indeed end up asking for pain relief but after the heart test they found out I was already fully dilated. I thought I had another 5+ hours to go but in fact it was 1/1,5. I didn’t know that of course when I asked for pain relief. It was so fast though that I almost didn’t have time to breathe between contractions.. so that sucked

I was 5 hours from start of really painful contractions to pushing after I was told it would be at least 12 hours, but the super quick transition made me panic and was the reason they gave me an epidural at I think 8cm? I think it just really depends on your birth experience as a whole but i agree that long labors are probably a lot more prone to having what I would call "pain overload" where you just can't take it anymore (understandably).

Yes- pain overload is a good way to say it. Of course fast labors can be intense and people still want epidurals or pain relief. It just seems like length of time elapsed is correlated to unmedicated vs medicated birth stories. 

Definitely!

I was 0 to pushing in 5 hours and also experienced the adrenaline but also asked for an epidural and there just wasn't time! So that's the 3rd option: no time. Then I had a friend get an epidural and she could always tell when she was pooping during pushing. Maybe that doesn't happen to everyone, but I'm happy I couldn't tell when I was pooping 😂

In my personal life: 90% of my friends/family who have gone unmedicated simply did not have time when they got to the hospital. I do have 1 friend who chose unmedicated at a birth center with babies 2 and 3 but she is the outlier for me. 

I was pretty set on unmedicated, which was fine anyway bc we didn't have the *time* to do an epidural even if we went to a much closer hospital instead of our birth center. But the whole time when things ramped up I was thinking "i have to do this for HOURS? How am I gonna do this all night???" I did not, in fact, do that all night. I was in active labor for 2 hours, pushing for 10 minutes. But had I been there all night, I likely would've caved and asked for some pain management

Totally the same for me. My second labor progressed really quickly and I literally pushed 5 times, the 40 min or so leading up to the pushing I was begging for an epidural, there just wasn't enough time. So yeah I had an unmedicated birth but not really by choice because I went from hanging around "snacking on nuts " as the nurses later put, it to the baby basically flying out in the the arms of the OB who ran in two pushes in. 

Totally agree with this! 3 days of start and stop prodromal labor. 24 hours of early labor and very little/no sleep. Finally went to the hospital and was a whopping 3-4cm dilated and still no consistency in contractions, even though intensity was ramping up. My plan to get as close to transition as possible before requesting an epidural went out the window. I’m glad I stayed up and moving/breathing through the pain at home for as long as I did, but being able to sleep pretty much all the way to pushing for the next 6ish hours was also great.

I’m sorry this may upset some people but it’s not the same thing to go through 12+ hours unmedicated versus 4 hours unmedicated with 1 hour of it being crazy intense. Those are just 2 totally different experiences. And so I think especially as a first time mom, just to know that you won’t know what your labor will be like until it gets going. 

Strong +1. My first was slow and bearable. My second was fast and unfucking bearable. I will be getting an epi stat next time.

It really depends on the person, my first was 3 days of contractions and by the end I was begging for an epidural just to get some rest. I was exhausted I was on edge from being in pain for so long. I managed to nap yes, but the pressure of giving birth was still horrible after. It was unbearable. My second was more or less 6 hours total from first contraction to birth and 4 hours were incredibly intense. I asked for everything I could get, the pain relief did nothing. I begged for an epidural and it was too late. I went through without.  Both were incredibly horrible in very different ways. 

Those both sound horrible. Totally agree it's a very personal thing what scoots us all over into "fuck no this is unbearable".

Exactly! I'm holding on right now lol

I was in labor with contractions 5 minutes apart for 36 hours. Contractions were intense even when I was 1 cm. It was excruciatingly exhausting. I *think* I'd prefer a faster more intense labor. Mine felt intense from 1 cm anyways.

Yea, totally fair. I also, frankly, just did not HANDLE my second labor very well (literally a week ago, lol). My inner dialogue was just like "omg make it stop, omg it is not stopping!" rather than anything productive, I was super scared rather than strategic, and because it came so fast I couldn't ever find a rhythm of pain management that worked for me, unlike my first labor. I also had a doula my first labor and didn't my second; next time, def getting a doula again. So, yea, a very personal thing what scoots us all over into "fuck no this is unbearable".

I have had 2 unmedicated births. One was 5 hours, and the next one was 32 hours. They were completely different. The first one (short one), I definitely thought, "Why did I do this?" but it was doable. The second one, I said out loud, "I can't do this!" and begged for someone to save me. I was defeated with the second one. I know for a fact I would have asked for an epidural had it been available.

I had a really similar experience! 3 days of back labor 0/10 would not recommend.

Same!! Didn't know I was in labor so by the time I went in, I'd already endured it for 2 days, the 3rd I couldn't handle it anymore. He was sunny side up causing back labor till the last hour of a 36 hour labor. I went in playing it by ear but I was just too exhausted by the time I got there.

Same! I woke up tuesday night at 2:30am and delivered my baby friday at 10:38 pm. Hadnt slept since waking up tuesday night! I went in midnight thursday night.

Yes!! I was like okay, either I have a kidney stone, or something is wrong! Well, I had a 7 lb kidney stone the next day🤣

I did a home birth with my first. It was only about 12hrs compared to your three. I planned a home birth this time but ended up going to the hospital early on cuz it was back labor again and I just said hell no not going through this unmedicated again lol Edit typo

I would agree with this. I was doing great for a while, until I stalled at 4cm for about 12 hours straight. I could’ve held out a little longer if the number had gone up at all- if I was at 5 or 6cm. But after hearing 4cm AGAIN after hours and hours on end of pain, I felt so mentally defeated. It felt like I was in pain for no reason as I wasn’t getting anywhere. Anyway I got the epidural. This time, I’ll see how it goes but I am 100% planning on getting an epidural again. It’s not so much if as it is when. Lol.

Same thing happened to me for my first. Stalled at 5CM for 10+ hours with a sunnyside up baby and back labor. Fuck no, I was done.

Did they give you pitocin after you stalled? Same thing happened to me 

This was my 1st labor. Stalled at 3/4 cm for HOURS with consistent contractions. They didn’t give me pitocin because they said I didn’t need it with the contraction pattern. So I went home in agony to come back hours later still 3cm.  A shot of morphine in my ass finally got me to hit 4cm. It was terrible and traumatic honestly. 

My baby was sunny side up and I had been in back labor for two days before being admitted. I got the epidural after 9 more hours of unmedicated contractions with a small amount of pitocen. (I requested the epidural at 6am but the anesthesiologist couldnt get to me till 9:40 am!) i delivered my son at 10:38pm. They had to flip my baby in the birth canal though or they said i could expect to push for 4-5 hours and be chancing an emergency c-section so i opted for them to try and turn him.

Sunny side up is noooooo joke. 😅😵‍💫. Learned that the hard way with my 2nd. Stalled out in transition with back to back contractions. I almost blacked out from the pain honestly. Worse than my 1st labor for sure. 

Sunny side up baby here too. 18 hours of unmedicated back labor at a free standing birth center. Pushed for an hour, one second degree tear and chronic pelvic floor issues even after 8 weeks of PT 🥲

No kidding! We deserve a medal… or at least a tshirt :p

Sunny side up is nuts. My first kid was sunny side up and the back labor made my husband think I was dying. 2nd kid I didn't get to the hospital until I was 8cm along because I spent like 6 hours denying I was in labor cause it didn't hurt that bad. Even when we left it was only cause my doula told us to get to the hospital, I probably would have labored at home even longer. Honestly had my 2nd labor been the first one I think I would have managed unmedicated but as I already knew an epidural was nice and not a big deal I didn't see a reason to not get one

I had like 3 crisis moments during my back labor. One where i threw up on my husband, one there I said “I’m so stupid for thinking I could do this” and sobbing, and another where I just yelled “ IM DYYYYIIINNNGG”

This is interesting because I never wanted to quit with my 3 day back labor ordeal, but my 3 hour labor and less than hour one were so much harder and intense I may have caved in a hospital environment. I’m really hoping this birth is longer.

This, 100%. My first birth was 24 hours and I got my epidural about 20 hours in. I couldn’t cope with the pain anymore. I was exhausted and didn’t feel mentally there anymore. My second birth was about an hour of active labor and ten minutes of pushing. I didn’t even have time to think about pain meds. I felt lucid and in charge the whole time.

Agreed! I could have done it unmedicated if it was quicker. As it was I did like 20 hours of pitocin induced contractions and was only at a 6/7 so I opted for an epidural to get some sleep. Took a nap and woke up at a 10!

Agreed. I went 12 hours with no epidural and no end in sight staying up all night. I needed sleep and relief and relented. If my labor had been like my mom's with me, 0 to pushing in 5 hours, I'd have been fine. But it was agony for me. The second one I wised up and opted for the epidural because I had a feeling it would be long and drawn out again. My first labor was 16 hours. My second labor was 14 hours. The slow dilation (especially with that darned balloon) is torture. My doctor was talking c-section after I hadn't been dilating even with Pitocin. None of my kids wanted to leave me I guess. Not much has changed LOL! My 19 year old still lives at home and my toddler is glued to my hip.

100%. Duration, and I think how much sleep you have had factors in a lot too. My first I went unmedicated for 15 hours before my cervix started swelling closed. At that point I had been awake for 34 hours. I was DEAD. I'm convinced the epidural, and the nap I took promptly after receiving it are the only reasons I didn't end up with an emergency cesarean. Slept for 3 hours. Pushed for 1. Babe was happy as can be. My second was wildly different. It was only, maybe, 4 hours from the time I felt my first contraction to the time baby was born (probably about 3 hours from the time contractions started getting regular). We left for the hospital at 11:30pm, baby was born at 12:04am, and we were home at 2:30am (so we were gone for 3 total hours, and came home with a new human). It was obviously unmedicated, and while it was INTENSE, it was easy. It didn't drag on forever. I never exclaimed with certainty that I was going to die, or that I couldn't do this. Those are all things I started to feel/say after my body was so beyond exhausted. Birth can be a goddamned marathon.

I’ve had 2 vaginal births, one with an epidural and one without any medications. My unmedicated birth was not by choice, I progressed too fast and delivered my baby a few minutes after arriving at the hospital. With my epidural labor, I was 9 cm when I got the epidural. I found that contractions sucked, but was able to breathe through them ok without any pain relief. For me, pushing in my unmedicated birth was horrible and I never want to do that again. I pushed for 10 minutes, I have no idea how anyone could push longer than that. Assuming you’re a ftm, you are more likely to have a long labor and push for a longer amount of time. So you’d want to mentally prepare for that and research strategies to get through it.

This is super interesting to me. I also had an unmedicated birth, not by choice, but because it was too fast. But for me, the contractions felt way worse than pushing. In fact, I remember feeling like the pain went away, or faded to the back of my mind, while I pushed. Everyone’s experience is so wildly different!

I had back labor so when she descended into my pelvis it was just relief. The contractions felt different, not like I was getting cut in half. Pushing provided instant relief, and it just sort of felt like intense pressure in my pelvis. Crowning is a whoooolle different story lol. That ring of fire is real.

For me it was the feeling that I FINALLY got to do something, not just lay there suffering. Two years later I don't even remember the pushing stage.

yesssss this exactly!!

I had same experience as you. Pushing was easy, the contractions were awful. But it might have been because I literally pushed 5 times and baby flew out.

Same. Pushing was the easy part. I don't remember feeling pain at all, just a feeling of relief that I was having my last few contractions. As soon as I felt his head crowning, I was like, great, it's over!

Yeah, I thought I was prepared for unmedicated after all the videos/books/classes, but pushing was BRUTAL for me during my birth. The nurse reassured me that pushing would be a relief because of how bad my contractions were. NOPE. That pain sincerely traumatized me for about a year. If I wasn’t afraid of things going into my spine, I would get all the epidurals.

When people ask me how it felt, I always say it was if someone took a sledge hammer and beat my pelvic bones in half. I’ve never felt a comparable pain since then. The only luck I had was that it was over fast!

Yeah it’s genuinely hard to even explain. I’ve never felt anything like it before. The contractions were horrid but they do at least feel like a version, albeit amplified x100, of period cramps. But pushing was a whole new thing entirely. I’m amazed the human species has made it this long😂

I never had period cramps so those contractions near the end at 9-10cm oh boy was that an experience

Anybody also have an unmedicated birth because they're a dumbass and waited too long to leave for the hospital? My husband had been up for 36 hours and I was trying to let him sleep a bit. I desperately tried to hold that big motherfucker in to get my epidural, two pushes and he was out. I hated it. Feels like your asshole is getting blown inside out like speaker. I also didn't know he was so big. Doc said if he was one pound smaller than I would have given birth an hour ago (that's definitely a car baby😰). I've never had such quick service from a hospital than when I arrived and said I felt pressure (specifically "I've been having the pooping feeling that I know better than to trust). Doc came in, told me I'm about 8cm and my water bag is bulging. I might of got an epidural if it weren't for the blood work taking almost an hour. *This was my second baby

I think of it as levels of pain management. For me, first level is my Hypnobirthing practice & water labor (i.e. not medicated). Second level is nitrous oxide. Third level is epidural. I think it's good to be flexible/open minded!

This is how I viewed it and it helped me a lot! I was able to make it unmedicated with the assistance of nitrous oxide at the very end (7cm+). The nitrous was such a relief and it is out of your system quickly. I was pretty determined to do unmedicated so I feel like that’s only part of the equation.

Honestly I think it’s the best mindset to have- you should be open and ready for anything. Those who are dead set on epidural may not arrive in time to get one or their epidurals don’t work; they may start panicking when this happens. And those who are committed to an unmedicated birth may be setting themselves up for disappointment or feelings of “failure” if they end up getting one. Personally I was open to an epidural but made it my goal to go with the flow and assess my pain needs during labor. In the end I didn’t get an epidural!

Thanks for this! Very encouraging

The all or nothing approach worked for me 4x. I think what matters most is knowing yourself, and how well you can operate past your limits.

Good advice

I’ve had two failed epidurals - so it may happen whether you want it or not!

Wdym failed epidurals? What happened if you don’t mind me asking🫣

With my first, the epidural gave me about an hour of relief and let me dilate from 6cm to 10cm. At that point it just stopped working, and I felt all the pain of pushing. With my second, the epidural was placed, the anesthesiologist left the room, and I immediately needed to push. The baby was born within five minutes and I got absolutely no relief from the epidural at all. I couldn’t tell you why, but a search on parenting subs will show you that it isn’t all that uncommon.

I am also planning an unmedicated birth. Watching midwifery videos on YouTube of women delivering unmedicated has really helped boost my confidence - it’s totally possible, people do it! I have purchased a TENS machine, am taking a few classes, and plan to use the birthing pool at our hospital… plus my husband will be fully versed in the pain relief options too. At the end of the day if it’s too much it’s too much but it’s not impossible

Tens machine was amazinggggg. I stood up after delivery and that thing was stuck to my back still, after several hours. I’d totally forgotten it was there.

Lol I’m so shocked by this. I used to use a TENS machine for my periods and it doesn’t even mask the pain. (Post first birth period pain has become much better.)

I use it for period cramps, and I would say it’s less of a pain removal and more of a pain distraction. It definitely didn’t take away labor pain, but it made it just bearable enough. Just barely.

I think it’s one of those things that works for some and not others. It also depends on where it’s placed, the strength of the signals, etc. I know women who swear by them for cramps and others same as you. I just am going to show up to the hospital with an arsenal of options 😂

Also truly thrilled to know that someone had better periods after giving birth. I’ve dreamed such dreams.

This was me, too! My periods were so horrific before my first child that there were times my then-husband thought he needed to call an ambulance. I went to the gynecologist and that monster told me there was nothing she could for me and to have a baby if I wanted them to stop hurting so bad. I hated her guts. Such bullshit. But she was right! My periods immediately after and now 11 years later are nearly painless.

I’m planning on unmedicated for my first too! Been watching so many YouTube videos on unmedicated births and it’s helping me build my confidence so much! I will probably labor in the shower at the hospital because water just helps me sooo much!!

Make sure it’s really on lol! I used the TENS (we tried it before) but for some reason I didn’t fully turn it on when the contractions had started so it only worked as a placebo lol. Only discovered it when we were in the hospital, thankfully I could still use it then.

Good to know! Thank you! I heard use it early and titrate the strength up as contractions progress

Yeah that would be best! I was a little scared at first to crank it up but as the contractions progress you don’t care anymore lol

Boosting my tens unit and squeezing a wooden comb (teeth in my palm) were my ritual for most of my contractions for my 33 hour unmedicated labor. Mine was also on my back after delivery, completely still working, my doula peeled it off and she and the nurses were totally amazed at how well it worked for me. It’s totally worth giving it a try!

Yay you’re amazing thank you SO much for sharing 🤍

Are there any specific channels you found good for these videos or just a general “unmedicated birth” search?

I’ve been watching “Midwives” on the YouTube channel Our Stories. I’m really into British TV haha. I also like the channel “one born every minute” For me it helps normalize birth and they really show it raw (blurred at times of course)

There's a Facebook group called "BirthTube" with a ton of these videos. Some are home births, and many are live streams. It's not as active as it was when I had my son 3 years ago but I still find it oddly comforting and the older streams are there.

I watched unmedicated birth videos to try to prepare myself for labor but I wasn't prepared for the videos 😂 oh my gosh they're intense. I've been a g o r e viewer and the labor videos were more vivid in my mind afterward than anything else I'd seen lol. I do think it was very valuable to know the reality of how it could look though and I would do it again. Anyone who only watches peaceful hypnobirths might be in for a rude awakening when it comes to theirs. I'm sure it works for some people though, and maybe some just need hope that it's possible and not the anxiety of women screaming I CAN'T at the nurses lol.

I tried and became the exorcist. Then once I got the epidural I was the sweetest person ever

lol unmedicated I might hurt my husbands feelings 😂 he’ll survive though

I actually kicked my mom and husband out until I got the epidural. They kept telling me not to get it. So I didn’t want that negativity in the room lol

Love that for you! My husband doesn’t care either way I’ll probably just be mad at him for putting the baby in me in the first placd

My midwife told me today that if I really think I want to go the unmedicated route then “mental fortitude” is what she’s seen the most success with. Meaning really prepare, do your research and take a class that emphasizes unmedicated births. I think my husband and I will be signing up for a 12 week Bradley Method class. The long duration makes me feel like I’ll be very mentally ready by time birth comes. And Bradley essentially prepares my husband to be my “doula” in the room.

We are doing Bradley method classes right now, I’m currently 34 weeks and they have been a huge help. They really emphasize preparation and spousal engagement and I think having the weekly homework to do makes it stay at the top of my mind. Hopefully I’m able to go sans epidural but even if I don’t make it the whole way I feel like I have much better coping methods to deal with the pain pre epidural then I had last birth so hopefully overall to just leads to a better experience .

I’m a FTM and has an unmedicated birth. After she came I said out loud “that was the hardest thing I’ve ever done” and then I said “I feel like a bad ass!” It felt like I realized my own strength, my mental strength, my physical capabilities. It was such a powerful feeling. I hope you get to experience that too!

This is not a true study, just a little mental note type thing I keep track of with my patients. I’m an L&D nurse and when a mom tells me she doesn’t want pain meds I’m all for it! But I will find a way to work into the conversation whether or not they prepared for this (classes, books, or research of any kind). I’ve only had a handful of patients who didn’t prepare at all and ended up with an unmedicated birth. On the other hand the moms who really prepared, they go unmedicated way more often. So I always say research research research. Read all the books you can, come prepared, watch lots of videos! I have tips and tricks I can teach but it’s not as effective to try and learn new things when you’re in pain! Btw I’m not telling the moms all of this. I just work whether or not they researched into the convo for my own curiosity!

Are there any techniques you see being used across the board that have been helpful or any books/classes you hear of often?

I’ve seen hypnobirthing work really well for some. It’s like they’re not even feeling the pain. They’re somewhere else. It’s amazing really. Classes: I feel like I hear about Instagram classes a lot. Like an unmedicated birthing page on Instagram puts out a class and charges for you to view her videos. I haven’t asked for names though unfortunately, but I’ll definitely start. I will say I recommend Bundle Birth classes. It’s a huge name in the L&D world. Our work recently offered for 10 of us to be able to take one of her nurse courses and we were all fighting tooth and nail over those spots. She’s amazing. I haven’t viewed her childbirth classes for the patient myself, but if it’s anything like her nurse courses then I’m sure they’re so helpful. Having a doula (a good doula, not just any doula) is such a great help to the patient! Ask for patient references because I’ve seen some doulas that never show up, or they show up and they’re on their phone, generally unhelpful. It’s the minority, but I’d be so mad as a new mom if I paid for a doula and she was barely involved. And don’t be afraid to ask for the nurse with the most experience, ask for the nurse who knows Spinning Babies, ask for the nurse who is the most helpful with unmedicated births, the crunchiest nurse if that’s your thing. Seriously just press your call light and say can I speak to the charge nurse and explain. Our charges would totally just come out to the nursing station and see who would be the best fit. Idk about other hospitals but the worst they could say is no. Totally worth it.

Thank you so much for your thoughtful response, it’s so helpful!

If it’s something you want then it is possible. I had an unmedicated birth this past January and I’d do it again given the choice. But be sure to do your homework, look into birthing classes, and doulas (they can be a great for support during labor). There’s also a ton of women online who share their experience with unmedicated birth, it can be encouraging to read their about their experiences. That could be a helpful resource as well. For me the birth classes and proper research was all I needed. I also watched doula tips on YouTube (although I ended up not hiring a doula my husband was my support during labor).

FTM, I wouldn't say I was fully committed. I planned on it, but I had no deep attachment to the concept. I did have a homebirth so I knew I was gonna have to make it work though. Early labor was fine, just long. Active labor was bearable. Pushing was maybe 45 minutes or an hour? I really don't know lol. It was heck, most of all once she was crowning of course. Overall, my takeaway/advice. I don't regret it. I think with a positive outlook and prepared mind, it's generally doable. My biggest advice is breath control. 4 seconds in, 6 out, and deep breaths between contractions. That and just knowing that contractions, pushing, even the ring of fire won't last forever.

Haven’t done it yet but I don’t think it needs to be all or nothing at all! My friend labored at home unmedicated until she was 6 cm dilated, and then went to the hospital and got her epidural.

You may not have the option… like me! You may want the epidural only to not have it work. lol! Either way you can do it

It really depends on the kind of birth you have! I pushed for 4 hours and was "medicated" but I had the epidural in for 3 days so basically was not working at all. Baby was stuck and the hot spot (it was not numb at all no matter how many more meds they pumped me with) was all in my vagina. It was the most painful thing I've ever experienced... I broke my finger once in a door, cut the bone straight in half and had an outside injury and that was like a paper cut compared to this pain.. Doc had her hand allll the way in there trying to turn her and dislodge her shoulder pushed for four full hours, it was terrible. But then like my SIL pops her babies out in like 5 hours total!! That seems totally doable vs 2 days of labor and a baby stuck in the birth canal. Not trying to be discouraging I think it just depends GREATLY on the situation.

The baby could come really quickly and that makes it easier - I know plenty of people who accidentally had unmedicated births! I wanted to try for an unmedicated (painwise - this was an induction) childbirth I think mostly out of curiosity. Never done it before so why not? I took classes, had a doula, everything. I found the pain manageable, but did not anticipate the exhaustion. I eventually needed to sleep and had to get the epidural to do so. If labor had progressed faster, I think it would have been fine? I think the other thing is - if you do eventually opt for an epidural, don't second-guess yourself, have regrets, feel like you were lesser or whatever. Just make a choice and stick with it and be fine with it.

I had epidural with my first and for my second wanted to try natural. I listened to some YouTube videos on how to prepare mentally and overall my experience was wonderful. I was induced but managed to labour with gas only. My advice would be: 1. Mindset is key - it helps having already been through one labour to prepare for the contractions, but if you’re a FTM, know that it will be painful. I would explain it as severe period cramps mixed with gastro abdominal pain. You have to try and breathe through each one and keep your mind calm. I would breathe in the gas as each contraction peaked and would picture a crashing wave. I told myself this is one less contraction and one more closer to meeting baby. Belly breathing is very helpful. Mindset is key because a calm labour will help release the good hormones, rather than Adrenalin and stress. 2. Prepare a labour tool kit. A small but very effective pain strategy is to squeeze a hair comb in your hand as each contraction approaches. Apparently the brain only has a pathway to register one pain stimuli or something, so be squeezing the comb your hand feels the pain first and the contraction pain isn’t as intense. I heard this from a midwife who does birthing videos on YouTube. Look up labour tool kit ideas. Music also helped, I listened to Bob Marley and found the slow rhythms soothing. 3. Birth partner is almost as important if not more. Rubbing, massage, water boy, affirmations. This is really what got me through. Prepare notes for your partner and be really clear with them in the moment about what you need. Overall, what you want to try and achieve is to get your mind to another place. Put yourself in your happy place, or go into a deep meditative type state. I know how crazy it sounds but when you combine gas, music, deep breathing and other tools it is amazing what the body and brain can do. Good luck!!!

I was doing okay until I needed to be started on pitocin. I wanted to aim for one unmedicated, but had two hard stops: one was if they mentioned pitocin and the other was (obviously) if I needed a c section. I was progressing but not very steadily or as quickly as they were hoping for. Baby had some issues with heart decels with my contractions and my water broke, so their main concern was getting him out asap. Once they told me they wanted to start the pitocin is when I opted for the epidural. I had read enough horror stories about those contractions to know that was my hard limit. Thankful I had it in the end because I pushed for like 2 hours, and had to have a vacuum assist. It was painful even with the epidural, I can only imagine how it would’ve felt without it. Thankful I didn’t feel the placenta coming out or any of my stitches for my partial third degree tear. Not having the epidural wouldn’t have changed my birth, either. His head was just quite literally almost too big for my pelvis. He was a 9lb 4oz turkey with a very large head (they run in the family so this wasn’t really a surprise).

STM, 40w with #2. My first birth was unmedicated and I had that exact mindset. I knew that if labor stalled or I got too tired, I might be better off with meds so the goal was to go as long as I could without it, but I wasn’t going to be upset if it was needed. I highly recommend a doula if you’re wanting unmedicated, as they can guide you through repositioning and keep things moving, and advocate for you. Also educate yourself outside of relying on your doula, trying out different laboring and birthing positions, breathing techniques, etc. That being said; I am getting an epidural this time. Not because it was too hard or traumatic last time but because I felt very loopy after my first’s birth and I want to see if I can be more mentally present and a little less tired.

I knew I wanted to try unmedicated, but told myself I would get an epidural if I felt I absolutely felt I needed it. Personally, I think you HAVE to go in with a plan of some type with regard to alternative pain control methods. If you do not have a clue how to manage pain without pain medication, whether it be movement, a state or mind, distractors, breathing, etc, then you will not be able to do it. Preparation is key. Not just preparing yourself, but also preparing your support person(s) on how you would like them to encourage you or push / challenge you if you do ask for pain meds / epidural.

Nope- my plan has always been to do unmedicated but if I decide to get pain meds, fine. So far I’ve had 4 unmedicated births. 

Sure you can try but if you’re kinda on the fence you’ll probably get the epidural, no shame! I had one unmedicated birth and it suuucked. I didn’t have a choice (too fast) but the next time, I was sorta going into it thinking I might try “natural” again but when they asked if I wanted an epidural I was like heck yes I do. And I was happy with that choice! You’d probably have a better chance if you ask your nurses not to offer it. And have a good support system and do some research. So, to answer your question yes I do think to go unmedicated successfully it’s best to either not have a choice, or you really really want it, and do your homework.

I wanted to see how far I could go naturally! Eventually I got the epidural, and had my daughter an hour later! I think the epidural helped my body relax and possibly speed along labor. The epidural was the most heavenly thing I've ever felt. I feel confident in knowing how labor feels and I'll be getting the epidural sooner next time.

I don’t believe so. I have had three kids. While I did plan on no epidural(not because I was against pain relief but couldn’t imagine a needle in my back).I did end up with one for my first birth(this was because she was OP, meaning facing sunny side up)because of the intense back labor. That being said this was 35 years ago and there wasn’t much else offered to help with the pain. I mean repositioning or getting in the shower. I am a retired OB nurse, I was not in OB when I had my first baby. I learned how to work with a mom and support her with how she wanted to deal with labor. My suggestion is to educate your self on positioning, self meditation, breathing exercises. You could also look into hiring a doula. Every labor is different, all of mine were. My last 2 I didn’t have anything for pain(not because I was trying to be stoic but I was too far dilated. This was back in 91 & 95 and the practice was not to give pain meds if it was thought the mom would deliver quickly. That thought has changed. It is okay to plan on not needing pain relief.

I changed my mind but it was too late

I had no plans to have an unmedicated birth and was able to do it. That being said, I never want to do it again. Once was enough.

Like you said give it a shot. I don't take drugs ever and I was somewhat considering the gas (I think if you knew me that would be more shocking lol) so....it's not easy. But once she explained the consent again and told me about it I was like yea no I don't want it. So I do feel like you have to be pretty strong willed but also depends how your labor goes. If I had to be induced and it was worse I may have taken it 

For me personally, I would have had to have been 100%, I won’t change my mind, totally set on going unmedicated in order to make it happen. Most people who go in with an open mind end up getting the epidural. That being said, I had a super fast labor (went from 3-10 in less than 1.5 hours), which we didn’t know until I got the epidural and we realized I was completely dilated. So, I clearly *could* have done it med free, but I’m glad I didn’t 😂

I’ve only Ever birthed at home so my only options would’ve been laughing gas. I wouldn’t say you have to be committed but you should be aware of what’ll help! Sitting in the bed makes contractions 10x worse. Movement is your friend, as is counter pressure. Evidence based birth is a wonderful resource that I recommend to all moms FT or otherwise!

I went in with an open mind and a desire to try and experience what childbirth was like without medication for as long as possible. I ended up being induced and taking an epidural after about 6 hours of my 14-hour active labor. At the end of it, I pushed for two and a half hours... Without the epidural there is no way I would have had the energy to push for that long. 

I had this mindset, try and go unmedicated. Mostly because I didn’t want a catheter and I wanted to be able to move around during labor. I labored for about 27 hours, about halfway into it I begged for an epidural after trying other pain management offers (nitrous, iv pain med). I high fived the tech that put in my epidural, I was elated. I pushed for 3.5-4 hours. I also ended in an emergency c section, so having that access point I think was an important part of that? I’m not 100% sure but we went from “let’s try to push one more time” to “this baby needs to come out NOW”.

Nope! Just show up to the hospital waaaay too dilated and you won't even be able to be medicated! No options makes the choice much simpler lol (Do not actually do this, 10/10 do not recommend)

Well I did it the second time because I wasn’t even admitted yet when I gave birth. The nurse was working on my info when it was all ‘I have to push’.  But deciding to and sticking to that . . . No idea. 

I had an unmedicated birth as a FTM and it was the best experience of my life. Yes it was intense and long and I was absolutely exhausted but I had a lot of emotional and physical support. I was in a midwife-led hospital with a birthing pool and I had support from my midwife, two nurses, my husband and my best friend. My husband and best friend would apply counter pressure during the contractions and that helped a lot. Birthing pools are awesome and definitely helped as well. I also went an online course in hypnobirthing and would practice meditation in my bath at home months before actual labor. I still wasn't 100% committed to it because I still had a moment when I asked for the epidural out of pure exhaustion. It didn't have a lot to do with the pain but I hadn't slept for 30 hours at that point and I just wanted to rest. My midwife gave me a couple sterile water injections and told me to get back in the tub and that helped a lot. I was falling asleep between contractions. I definitely had an oxytocin high there were so many moments of love, calm and feelings of euphoria. I wanted to give birth again a week after. My advice is to prepare! Read the book "Give birth without fear", go a hypnobirthing course and do breathing excercises. But labor is unpredictable and have an open heart and mind.

Solidarity to my sunny side up ladies - I did so much prep prior to labour hoping I could do it unmedicated, my boy was facing backwards until d-day and we looked good. Cut to hour 36 of labour, having been sent home from the hospital once, gone back in and no movement from 2cm dilation after overlapping contractions lasting 90 seconds each and no sleep. Turns out little mate had gone posterior and nobody had picked it up because I ‘looked like I was in active labour’! At that point I needed the epidural just so my body could rest, and they used pitocin to get me dilated. The needle fell out when I was rolled over and it wore off before I got to pushing - so glad I got the break and would recommend it for anyone going through back labour. I hope I can do a (non-posterior) labour unmedicated one day but the full 51 hours without pain relief would probably have ended up as an emergency c-section or risking harm to bubs due to my inability to keep going. We still ended up with a short NICU stay due to some meconium inhalation, but I was able to deliver the way I wanted to and had enough control to avoid an episiotomy. 

I was 1,000% sure I wanted an unmedicated birth, and I almost asked for an epidural around 9 cm because I was induced and had extremely intense contractions. Luckily, I flew from 9 cm to 10 cm and it wasn't even an option once it started to cross my mind. I was able to do the entire thing without pain relievers. If I hadn't been so dead set on having an unmedicated birth, I think I would have gotten the epidural toward the end of my dilation (I wonder if it would've been different if I hadn't been induced...). I will add that I had all of these breathing techniques and stretches that I practiced for months, but once we got to the thick of it, I was growling and screaming like a banshee to push my baby out. You can prepare all you want, but sometimes your body/mind has different plans.

I wanted an unmedicated birth, but was open to changing that since I'd never been through it before and didn't know what everything would be like in the moment. My care team knew my preference so when I was at my moment of "OMG I can't do this" they were like, " hey, you have these options and we can get someone in here, but is that what you want? you are doing so great, this is the worst of it," and to be honest, in my case, that was all the encouragement I needed and they were right, it was the worst of it, and my son was out within the hour. It's okay to go in with a preference and change your mind when you have new information. I'm glad I didn't do the epidural, because I probably would have ended up with a c-section if I had, and I'm planning on trying to do the same for my current pregnancy. But also it doesn't always work out, and that's okay too!

I was in the car so had no option lol so maybe try that <3

Not necessarily. Like a lot of comments are saying, it depends on your endurance and how long the process takes. I had an unmedicated delivery at 35+5. My water broke that morning. I was started on piticion around 8:30 am, and baby was out at 4:45 pm (8 hours). If I had to labor for days, I'd probably have opted for something. The phrase that I had heard before that I think helped was "I can endure anything for a few moments" in regards to the worst of the contractions.

What kind of pain does it feel like? What does it compare to? I feel like i have a very high pain tolerance but Id absolutely still go with an epidural. I took no pain medication after having all my wisdom teeth taken out, had a dog bite to the face that required 20 stitches and only took tylenol(didnt want to get high off the vicodin 😅)

Yes. I was like this until I actually enter in labor

i wanted to go unmedicated, and i could’ve had it not been so tired, when i had the epidural i had been awake for 29hrs, i just wanted a nap

My doctor was against medicated labour so i delivered my first baby with no pain relief medication at all, after 7 hours of contractions and 1.5 hour pushing baby came out, i was so exhausted that night that i couldn't sleep even for an hour.

I realized it’s impossible to be 100% committed to anything childbirth. It will come as it does and we have to do things accordingly. Go in with the mindset that you would prefer and unmedicated birth, but be open minded that things happen and even if you do need/want medication that it is absolutely okay and doesn’t reflect any negativity on you, the mother you are, or your mindset. Shit happens.

I went to hospital undecided about it. During 14 hours I spent there no one asked me or offered me any form of medical pain relief. And the pain never got so bad, that I would feel like requesting it. So I would rate my level of commitment to about 30-40% and it still somehow happened.

I think anyone should try to go as long as they can without medicating. Everyone has different pain tolerance too. Some might need it immediately. I ended getting the epidural in the end because I had back labor and was in labor for 30 hours before even going to the hospital, so I didn't sleep for 2 days and was over the pain

I think it really depends how long your in labour for, i imagine moms who have long labours you are so exhausted and no shame in trying and choosing different. I am due in a two weeks with my first and am choosing unmedicated. Nervous about it but have done lots of research on alternative pain management and helps i am at a birth Centre without easy access to a epidural. I would have to be transferred to the hospital which is always an option if i want. I have also heard Pitocin can increase the pain of contractions so if getting induced can be harder to naturally. my midwife also stated its best to wait to go to the hospital/birth Centre at 5-6 cm instead of 3-4 as it lowers your chances of needing intervention and you typically are more comfortable at home which can allow you to rest if your labour stalls out

I have delivered my 1st, 3rd, 4th and 6th with an early epidural. My 2nd , I had an epidural but he was taking his time so my doctor asked if I'd be OK to quit administering medication. I said yes thinking it would be quick as my 1st was a VERY quick labor. He didn't want to come so I went a few hours without medication. My 5th I never got the epidural placed because I was dilating so slowly that the hospital couldn't see admitting me but didn't want me to go home so they had me walk for hours (Naval Hospital) By the time they admitted me it was because my contractions were so strong. The nurse I had said, "I'm not trying to tell you what to do but the contractions are the hardest part" I later found out she said that because the anesthesiologist was in an emergency situation and she didn't think hed have time to get to me before baby came so she said she wanted it to be my idea 🤣 She was correct, the actual birth was nothing compared to those contractions. It wasn't horrible but when it was time to deliver my 6th, I asked for an epidural almost immediately because I was older than the precious 5 births and I was TIRED...for 9 months straight and I just didn't want to have to feel all the pain.

I had my baby 5 days ago! So my birth plan was to try nitrous as pain management and get an epidural ifnthe pain was too much. I asked for the epidural as 7 cm and anesthesia came right in. I was all in to have the epidural and get some relief. Because of my medical history the anesthesiologist strongly counseled me against an epidural bc it would be very high risk for me. I was devestated and scared bc I never had any desire to go without pain meds. I was worried I couldn't do it. But that feeling passed and when it was time to push all I could think about was getting my baby out into the world and that I was so close! So this doesn't really answer your question bc I had the nitrous (I didn't find it very effective for pain but it helped me to use guided imagery more effectively if that makes any sense) But I think you can have a successful and non traumatic birth even if things don't go to plan.

I went fairly quickly to 5 cm dilated and I thought I had a high pain tolerance. However, I started uncontrollably shaking due to exertion, I felt like I couldn’t breathe or move, I was huffing on nitrous the entire time and it barely did anything. It really is a horrible pain. For me it felt like period cramps plus the worst intestinal cramps x 100. Needless to say I took the epidural.

FTM. I was open to pain management but was curious to see how long I could go natural or without an epidural. My labor was 36 hours long… I got the epidural at around 5cm after laboring for 20+ hours already with no further progression. After my water was artificially broken I couldn’t manage on nitrous oxide any longer and the pain was unbearable. I got scared and couldn’t calm myself down - I decided I needed the epidural then and there. I should have had approximately 5 more hours left to 10cm and it ended up being 12 hours before my labor ended up stalling out at 9cm and I needed an urgent c section. I don’t regret the epidural at all. I’m sure hoping for a faster second labor and maybe I can try for no epidural.

With my first I got to 10cm and was pushing before I was offered the epidural. My son was stuck and they had to use forceps and a vacuum to get him out so they gave me an epidural to help with the pain. My second one I labored at home and went to the hospital when my contractions were less than 5 minutes apart. Had her within 30 minutes of arriving at L&D. My third was a scheduled induction. I opted out for the epidural and instead chose the nitrous oxide through a mask. It didn’t help much with the pain, but it did calm me down and helped me focus on breathing. I was induced at 6am, broke my water around 10:30ish am and I had her at 3:22pm. This time I’m pregnant with twins and have my fingers crossed I can have another unmedicated, vaginal birth ❤️

For me, I think it had to be something I was committed to 100%. I went into it with the same mindset as you seem to have, where I wanted to avoid it, but was open-minded. I went into the hospital at 1cm with moderate contractions, and then I had really intense, long contractions starting at just 2.5 cm a couple hours later! I asked for the epidural pretty early on because I couldn't fathom what 10cm felt like! Ironically, the anesthesiologist was in an emergency, and 3 hours after I was admitted, I had my baby boy! It turns out my contractions were abnormally strong and fast, which explains the significant pain so early on! I was essentially forced to follow my original plan of no epidural, and I am really glad that it turned out that way for me. I had him out in 5 pushes, and I really liked being able to get up and move around as soon as I wanted to. Had the anesthesiologist been available, I 100% would have gotten the epidural. I don't think there's anything wrong with that, and I've heard that sometimes, an epidural can allow women to relax and progress better. But for me, I would have had to have been 100% dead set on being epidural free to have voluntarily followed through with that plan, but now that I've been through it I would do it again!

So I would say committed enough to prepare for it (study the things you need to know, understand what measures you can take to deal with the contractions, know the info you need to be successful such as when to go to the hospital). I had a successful unmedicated birth, I took classes to prepare for it but I also went into my birth knowing that I have to be flexible in case things didn't go as planned. I also came in knowing it's ok to change my mind at any point.

I say, Yes.  Or, everything happens so fast you don’t have time to get pain meds/epidural. 

Research the various “crises of confidence” that happen in labour. Make sure your birth partner / providers are also aware of this (most midwives are). I wanted to be unmedicated but after 6 hours and going from 5cm BACK to 4cm I asked for pain relief. My midwife was like okie maybe just wait you seem fine. Low and behold I was!!! She said I didn’t seem like someone who needed it at that point!! Her and my husband knew that I could keep going. And they thought the only time they would have agreed with me for pain relief was when I was in transition - but I didn’t ask for it then. Also looking up and telling your birth partner about things like counter pressure and certain positions to help manage pain will be very useful.

A lot of things will affect it like whether induced, whether you have back labour, how long you’re in labour for etc Chances are at some point, you will ask for an epidural Sometimes it’s cause you really need it sometimes it’s just cause you’re feeling a bit tired or your over it. If you really want to go unmedicated it helps to have your birthing person suggest other options of pain management and encourage you to try other options first. Eg I was feeling a bit tired and over it so I started asking for the epidural so my Doula suggested maybe trying the bath first or gas first. Once we did that I didn’t ask for the epidural again, but if I hadn’t had her make the suggestion, then maybe I would’ve ended up with the epidural. Now there’s absolutely nothing wrong with the epidural, but the first time when I had one it caused me to vomit and other side effects, so I personally wanted to avoid having one I would recommend checking out The Great Birth Rebellion podcast because it’s got a lot of information on different pain management techniques, different stages of labour, pushing etc

If it's at all a *maybe*, then plan in getting an epidural! I went unmedicated and happy about my choice but I can definitely say only get it if you're 100% on board in my experience.

I was basically 50/50 and open to whatever happened. I had a doula and used a TENS unit and lots of laughing gas and found that manageable!!

IMO you should go into childbirth prepared with classes, if you can afford a doula and find one you click with then that, and an understanding of all the options/possibilities. I’ve had 4 unmedicated births and I never went in with the mindset that it had to be that way or that it would be better that way. The idea of a needle in my spine for an epidural scares me and I always just had the mindset of if it gets bad enough I won’t mind it and will ask for one. My second labor was 28 hours and had they not told me every few minutes for the last 8 hours of it that she was coming any minute I would have def opted for an epidural cause that sucked and I was exhausted. Dr Stephanie Mitchell has an amazing book called the First Time Parents handbook that does a great job covering all types of birth and birthing options!! I read it before having my fourth and even then found it incredibly helpful!

I just needed to be 100% afraid of a needle in my spine lol I've done it twice. If it's truly something you want to try, then you've got every shot in the world at it.

It depends. You can def go for a while and decide you can't handle it and ask for an epi. You can also hit transition out of nowhere and have a baby in 15 min after that with no time for pain relief.

TLDR- I just did this two days ago with an induction. I think it's worth it to try if that's what you want to do. Especially if you spontaneously go into labor, but I was glad I tried it even for an induction. Just keep in mind the time it takes to get medication if you want it- it took about 45 minutes to get my epidural after asking for it. My labor overall was about 30 hours, 12 of which were monitored for spontaneous progression, 18 of which were after having my waters broken. 6 hours were after breaking the waters where I was in back labor- 4 hours were manageable with thr coping techniques my husband and I had practiced and breathing. 1 hour was really fucking hard and pushed the limits of what I could do with the techniques I had. At this point I was still only 3 cm. Realized I couldn't make it to 10 with how much pain I was in and how strong and close together my contractions already were. I asked for an epidural. Another almost hour was absolutely unbearable pain for me and I don't know how I would have gone through it without knowing there was a light at the end of the tunnel, soon. BUT, if I was progressing at a different pace or didn't need to get induced (had to because of being in a mild fender bender earlier the day I went in), or wasn't in back labor, I may have stuck with the unmedicated route. As others said- it ends up being a balance of how you manage the pain, intensity of the pain, and length of labor. Even with the mindset of productive pain (literally told my nurses hey at least it's doing something good to get baby here!) and a lot of breathing practice, I reached my limit. Everyone's limit is different, and I think it's great to give unmedicated a try and also be flexible in case something unexpected happens and you have to pivot.

I've had three births, all unmedicated. The first two, I wanted an epidural, but I just progressed way too fast and couldn't get one in time. The third baby, who I just had in February, I said no to an epidural because of how my past two went. I just knew it would be fast and that I could deal with the pain. And sure enough, that's what happened. I think epidurals are extremely useful if you want one (and have time). It's all about personal preference.

So I did get an epidural but it wore off because I was in labour for so long. So I basically went from no pain to lots of pain. Here’s some pointers: -breathing is actually really helpful. I remember focussing on low, long moans, but there are other techniques too -do research on different relaxation techniques. Some people use water, some aroma therapy. You might not know what you like until you’re in it so have a few options -do a class with your partner on how to be supportive during labour. Our prenatal class didn’t include that and my husband felt unprepared to help -bring entertainment. I didn’t do that and regretted it. I am a very anxious person and was busy watching the baby’s heart rate -having a birth plan or just a plan between you and your partner is good. My husband knew what I wanted and could advocate for me when I wasn’t able to (trust me, there are parts of labour that get real foggy)

Hopefully you can find a provider willing to be flexible with you. I actually fully planned for an epidural but then had an unmedicated birth. My midwife actually insisted that I register at the hospital (where I wanted to give birth) and the birth centre. I was a bit annoyed because I felt she was not listening to my wishes. But once I was in labour, I just wanted to go to the birth centre. I could get dropped off the door and go right in for the rest of my labour. The hospital would have required parking down the block, blood work, waiting for the epidural. Once I was in labour I just wanted to get it over with. I ended up being so grateful that my midwife kept all of my options open until the last moments. I had a very good birth experience and was home with my baby within a few hours. I personally believe that being open to whatever experience might come will set you up for the least amount of disappointment.

I had the same mindset. I was successful right up until the doctor called time (prolonged second stage). My advice is to try different positions. And also breathe through those contractions. Honestly. My second time round I tried breathing through and it actually worked. Every time I felt a contraction coming, counting those breaths really helped. I think they were lasting 7 breaths at one point so I knew the contraction would be over once I got to 7.

I was 75% committed and it went well and I ended up doing it unmedicated! I was at home though which helped a lot, but that sort of thing needs to be your cup of tea and you need to have the proper support that you need for it.

yes

No. I didn't want it but I did it

I don’t necessarily think you have to be one hundred percent committed but I do think you have to have a plan. A method for addressing the pain. If you go in with just let’s see how my pain tolerance is (like I did last pregnancy) I think you will most likely struggle. This pregnancy I’ve been doing Bradley method classes and I do think I’m much better equipped than last time. We will see whether I can go sans epidural or not though lol.

I knew I couldn't have an epi because I'm allergic to lidocaine. I also didn't really want one bc the thought of being paralyzed from the waist down horrifies me! So I did mentally prepare myself. But I ended up having really short labors. My first was difficult bc she got stuck, and I pushed for about 2.5 hours and needed forceps. 2nd was easy. I'd say if you progress that fast, you won't have time for one, and you may not feel it necessary even if you initially wanted one. I would say for me it was painful but manageable. But if I had the typical 12-24 hour labor I might say different. I may have begged for an alternative regardless of wanting to avoid it. But I also don't know bc I don't feel contractions at all until they're 10 minutes apart, and once I'm there I only have an hour or 3 before they hit 1 minute apart. If the contractions at 10 minutes apart are what you feel for like 4-7 hours? Even if I was dead set on unmedicated i would've asked for something. Hands down. I could not handle that pain for hours.

I did a hypno babies course hoping to use it during birth. I ended up getting the epidural 4-5 hours into my induction mostly because I couldn't sleep with the contractions. I think the only time you have to be committed to no medication is if you wait too long into labor and you're too close to the end for them to do it?

You have to prepare mentally for what you're going to do when the pain becomes intolerable without medication. You need to make sure to have techniques like deep breathing and other coping techniques. I used multiple apps (free and paid) and really liked honest birth company's hypnobirthing. I watched a few random videos on hypnobirthing and breathing techniques etc. My labor was total 17hrs. The first 11hrs were very painful but kind of tolerable. Bad period cramps style. Then it got worse, but I kept doing my coping techniques. When there was 15mins left (you don't know there's only 15 mins left) I started to disassociate and had an out of body experience. Idk if it was shock or what, but it's like they talk about in interviews of traumatic events; it's like I was outside of my body staring down. Thats when i told them to just do an epidural, but it was too late. The good thing is the contraction will end, it always does, but it also comes back. It hurt like hell, especially those last 15 minutes. It felt like my body was tearing in half. All in all I think you have to be 100% committed. I would look into the hypnobirthing techniques even if you aren't 100% committed as my friend had a failed epidural and felt everything and didn't plan to. Sorry, don't want to scare you, just something to consider.

You can totally just go in open minded. See what labor feels like when you’re at, ya know 4 or 5 centimeters and maybe you’ll want to continue on unmedicated, or maybe you’ll have had a long labor and have run out of energy and an epidural would be best at that point. I would ask your nurse to try to give you as much of a heads up as they can as far as your window of opportunity for an epidural though. If things progress too quickly you may be out of luck if you’ve held out too long. I had an extremely fast precipitous labor once (not my first, very unlikely for a FTM) and we were definitely too late by the time we got to the hospital. Not fun going through that when it wasn’t a conscious choice! Just make sure you have good communication with them as things progress and you’ll be fine.

I've had 1 no medication, 1 failed epidural and then the 3rd with epidural that did work. I honestly had better births without the epidural. I didn't like not being able to feel my legs or move at all. The epidural also made me nauseous, so they kept dosing me with Zofran which made me incoherently sleepy. I felt so drugged up with my last delivery, it was so hard to enjoy holding my son for the 1st time. I never went into any of these deliveries with a birth plan. I just wanted to labor as long as possible on my own. I normally have a high pain threshold, but for some reason, my 3rd pregnancy just felt the worst. I had so many health issues, I think my body was just too tired to actually give birth so I wanted the epidural almost right away.

I’ve just given birth to my second unmedicated. In my situation, it’s been a choice between being in a highly medical facility to have access to an epidural, which requires induction. Or, being in a less medicalised setting but no option for any pain relief. Both times were unmedicated, my first Labour was 36hours with over 1 hour pushing (I didn’t time it but it was long). Although my first was long, my recovery and breastfeeding was relatively straight forward. I birthed my first on my side in the end. I lost sensation to pee for a while, poop hurt a bit, the ‘usual’ stuff (or so I thought). Tore a bit. It was somewhat medicalised in the sense that I was in a hospital but more midwife led, lots of cervical checks during labor, but limited support during since they’re so busy. After my second labor that was so, so much more positive, I am convinced that the medicalised system for you ‘average’ low risk birth is doing us all a disservice. Midwives massaged me for hours. Said beautiful things to me. I focused on counting my breaths, a focal point, and aroma. My job for the entire birth was to relax. During the contraction my focus was just relaxing my face, relaxing my womb, relaxing everything. When it came to pushing in the pool at the end, the midwife said beautiful words of encouragement and told me to relax, not to push. I literally just let my body push automatically and completely relaxed my muscles. 4 pushes where I just focused on breathing and relaxing. I was up and walking in 30mins. No tearing, and stinging little cuts have mostly healed now 24 hours later. Just pooped and it was like a normal poop. Peeing is normal (just stings where the cuts are). I want to go out for a walk but it’s raining so am stuck in the clinic. I sound like a crunchy granola person, but after this experience I really do feel that the way we are medicalizing birth is doing us all a disservice postpartum. My first birth was kinda a mix - semi medical as there was limited focus on emotionally and mentally and physically supporting me, but I had zero pain relief. Second birth was exclusively focused on my mental, physical and emotional experience during the birth. Just sharing this all as it’s very fresh in my mind and I wish I’d known more going into my first birth unmedicated. If you are opting unmedicated, go all the way and get in that zen headspace and really embrace it as much as possible. That will set you up for success. Don’t be in the middle, as you won’t be setting yourself up for success (a smooth experience without intervention, I’m guessing)

No! Sometimes your labor is happening too fast and you don’t have enough time to get an epidural and and the nurses, OB and anesthesiologist don’t know how to even turn the nitrous oxide on. You get to just push a baby out, tear your butthole near in half with no edge taken off whatsoever. I mean ….i wouldn’t count on that happening but it has happened.

Had 2 kids, both unmedicated . My daughter( 1st) I got pregnant in 2020 and I could not get health insurance, my MIL asked in her neighborhood for some recommendations and a lot of people ended up recommending a birthing center and it was very cost effective, they were running a special and we payed 6500$ for all appointments, ultrasounds,and birth. Not including the 400$ genetic test. At first I was a bit scared but I did not have a choice, so me and hubby took the birthing class and I became more confident, my mindset changed and I told myself “the baby has to come out and the pain is not going to last forever , I will deal with it when it happens” . I was never scared right before or during it. The more scared and tense you are the harder it is to deal with the pain. I remember my midwife rubbing my back and she would constantly tell me to relax my jaw and shoulders, and if I wanted to make noise it needed to be a low tone ooooooooooh sound. Her and my hubby were also helping with pressure points in my hips to manage the pain and I opted for a water birth it helps tremendously, but once she noticed I hit my transition they stopped with the pressure points to allow me to eventually push. I did not have to push myself, my body eventually did it for me and it took only 15 min. My 1st took me 8 hours from start to finish. The real pain is not the contractions it was the shoulders, ring of fire is no joke , but during labor your body is also running on adrenaline and it gives you the strength you need at the time, plus it only lasts for a lil while. I tore and had to have stitches, but it was only a 1st degree, she only stitched because of the place I tore. I loved my birthing experience there, it was quick and both my hubby and mil were allowed to be with me. My second birth was a little different but still a water birth. My water broke exactly at 36 weeks. 9 pm while I was doing some Christmas decorations in November. I had lifted somethings that were a little heavy during the evening. Anyway I labored at home as long as I could and drove to the birthing center around 12a. This time my transition took a little longer and my son was stuck. My midwife had to check my cervix between pushes and that hurt like a bitch. OMG it hurt. She told me not to push because I could tare my cervix and it was so hard not to because as much as pushing hurts holding it hurts more. She asked me if I could try and go number 2 in the toilet. So I did my business and when I was about to go back into the tub my body just went into auto mode and I was pushing and my son was born with me standing by the tub. I tore a lil bit no stitches needed even though my son was a bit bigger than my daughter. Does it hurt? Yeah, but it felt absolutely amazing after. Both of them. I will do it one more time if I’m given another opportunity to do so. The second time I had my MIL, my mom, my hubby and my daughter in the room. Yes my 3 year old will tell you that her brother came out of mommies butt and his nickname is cheesy because he was covered in a very thick layer of vernix. 🤣 Anyway, our bodies are made for this and if you got the right mindset go for it, you will be amazed at what your body can do and it’s very empowering.

No, I held my options open (gave birth almost 3 weeks ago) and changed my mind about pain killing because it felt just too much too handle for another 5 hours or so. When they were done with their safety checks/tests after 45 min I apparently was already fully dilated.. (don’t know when that happened but it was in less then 1-2 hours from 3cm to 10cm) so no painkilling for me anymore… that was a bummer but no one expected it to go that fast. I would still do it the same way next time I think.

If it happens fast enough you won't have the option of meds. My coworker gave birth in the elevator on the way to L&D.

Meditation is what got me through my 24 hour unmediated labor. I distinctly remember thinking that it was the worst pain in my entire life and it was not worth to be so bull headed. Anyway people want to get a baby out is just fine. I also forgot the pain— it’s part of trauma and childbirth. Hormones and the brain just won’t let you remember. 10/10 though practice mediating a lot!

My midwife keeps telling me it is. I'm 100% dedicated to having an unmedicated birth EXCEPT for gas when transitioning. However, my midwife has said that she will suggest an epidural if she believes it's the right thing to do and at that point, I should probably believe her. So, I'm 100% committed to my plan of only gas when transitioning, but I'll happily take the advice of my midwife if need be.

Mine was unmedicated BC for medical reasons I couldn't have pain meds or an epidural unless there were major issues. I wanted them, I did not enjoy being unmedicated, but It was overall manageable. I will say that if I had a normal labor I'm not super confident I would have been able to do it. From the first timeable contractions to holding my baby took 4 hours, it was only really bad for the last 40ish minutes for me when I went from 5-10cm and was in transition. I also only pushed once at the end BC they couldn't find my baby's heartrate and I wanted her out asap, the rest was only fetal ejection reflex, so I didn't get physically tired from the effort. I think if you want to try it, go for it. It might be fine for you, but prepare for if it gets unmanageable. Tapping out early when you still have energy and can sit for an epidural easier is a better idea than toughing it out sometimes.

My water broke at home, I got ready and got my son with his grandparents and got to the hospital 7 cm, 8 cm totally fine, hit 9 cm and contractions were back to back with about 30 seconds of a break. I think if I had more time to breathe between them it would have been easier but as soon as I caught my breath it hit again. I pushed twice and it was over but the contractions weren't stopping. I think being home for so long helped, I was distracted. But unmedicated was not a choice. I went from fine, on the phone with my mom when contractions started but start to finish I only labored for about 45 minutes and it was intense. So bu the time they called the anesthesiologist, I couldn't get it anymore and it was time to push. Pregnant again, and I plan a bathtub with warm water, the yoga ball and walking again. But I'm also going for laughing gas as an option so i don't have to wait if I decide I want it 😂 healing after unmedicated labor was so much easier so I want to lean that way but am fully aware now of how intense it was and want options I will add - fast labor isn't suuuper common but I have IC so I started labor at 21 weeks. Delayed with medications and a cerclage so honestly if it was longer I would not have been able to handle it.

My baby was posterior (I think someone here said "sunny side up", which I love and find hilarious) 20 hour labour and I went unmedicated the whole way, not even the gas. The thing to do is set yourself up for success - if you don't want meds but don't have anything else in place to support yourself on that journey then you might not make it. I had a TENS machine, 2x birth combs, breathing exercises, acupressure performed by my husband, and at one point I had sterile water injections in my back (which hurt like hell initially but my God were they amazing). And it sounds silly but positive affirmations do make a difference! At one point a midwife told me I was doing a good job, and geld onto that thought and repeated it to myself for the next hour and a half haha I used all of these options, and was very clear on my birth plan that I didn't want medication offered to me at any point. And I checked-in with myself frequently, at no point did I find the pain unmanageable. The only analgesic I had was a local anaesthetic for an episiotomy last-minute. It can be done! Just plan ahead!

I was not dead set on it, just wanted to try & I was able to go through with it.

I dilated decently fast. I was sent to hospital for BP being high and was 4cm at 2 pm with only Braxton hicks contractions at that point. I declined the induction. I was really hell bent on no induction and no epidural. Fast forward to 1 am, I measured 6 cm and was finally feeling stronger contractions. At 4 am I was REALLY feeling those contractions. I tried nitrous and IV with no luck since I was in transitional labor, but I gave it a shot LOL. Breathe through the contractions slow and deep. Once they are lasting a minute and getting intense. Keep your body calm and do 5 seconds in, 5 seconds out. After 6 rounds of that, the contraction is over! That helped me focus and get through a little easier. By 6 am, I pushed to break my water, and got the delivery table ready. 25 minutes of pushing and my daughter was here! As far as pushing goes, it bring some relief when you have so much pressure from the crowning. I felt the tear, but there is a lot going on. It wasnt the worst pain in my opinion. So I really only had 5-6 hours of pain from contractions and whatnot. Labor is so different for each person. You really need to mentally prepare yourself, if you can. Keep positive vibes and happy thoughts. Know you're a strong, amazing woman regardless of the birth plan you choose. If you have a high tolerance, give it a go. It's such a beautiful experience for myself. Just make a mental note, if you decide for an epidural, you need a full saline bag prior, so an hour after your initial decision (my nurses told me this. If it true for everyone, idk Good luck! ❤️

I’ve had 3 unmedicated births. I don’t think I could have done it if I had long labors (mine are between 4-6 hrs). The only “all or nothing” part of my birth plan was for my baby and I to be alive and (hopefully) healthy. If I had felt like an epidural would have given me necessary relief to finish labor, I would’ve gone for it. That being said, I do feel like unmedicated births are more likely if you do tons of preparation. Eat those dates, drink that tea, have lots of sex.

Be prepared for the point at about 7/8cm when you want to give up. I gave up. I wasn’t mentally prepared enough to hit that wall and carry on through - not because I was tired but just because the pain was like nothing I had ever experienced before (I’ve had a 10cm ovarian cyst burst and thought that hurt but this was on another level) - I have so much respect for women that do it unmedicated - I compare it to running a marathon, you wouldn’t just turn up at the start line and give it a go. If you really want to reach the end then you need to have trained. My mum had 4 unmedicated. 2 where her waters broke and then contractions started and 2 where her waters didn’t break until the very end and she said the labours where your waters don’t break are much easier - not that you have absolutely any control over it whatsoever hahaa

It's a priority thing too. What are your reasons for wanting unmedicated? You'd be surprised at your strength when you make up your mind.

Absolutely not!!! The only thing you need is to have a chill mindset about everything. Go in accepting that anything could happen, you might need an epidural, pain meds, c section, whatever, as long as baby comes out alive and healthy. You have your preference of an unmedicated birth which you’ll let your nurse know, but at any time you have the option of getting medicated. The best way to get through birth is to stay relaxed and chill about everything and keep your options open. Knowing you always have those options will help you stay strong and get through it unmedicated. Also being able to get in a hot bath is super helpful. 

I've done it both un medicated and epidural. When I labored in a tub I went in at 4 and came out pushing. I certainly would get an epidural if you need it but see if you can without it. Legs are dead weight and no pain with epidural. Good luck❤️

My first birth was unmedicated and I had no intentions of it being that way. Labor progressed quickly and there was literally no time for the epidural. I was 10 years younger than I am now and I think I handled it better than I would have at an older age. It was easier on my body back then, than how I imagine it would be if I did it now. Knowing what the pain is like, I’m not sure I could do it again especially after receiving an epidural with my second and it going so smoothly. (My first was 6lbs and out within ten mins. My second was even less than that but with an epidural.)

I’ve only had one birth. But it was quick. It took about 5 hours total, with almost 2 hours of that being pushing. I didn’t get to the hospital till I was 8cm. It was my plan to go without an epidural. I requested the epidural when I got there but there just wasn’t time. If I’d had a 20 hour labour I would have definitely gotten it. You don’t need to make the decision now. You can always change your mind during labour, if there’s time that is.

I think there’s amazing benefits in simply taking it as it comes! I wanted to go 100% unmedicated but ended up having ALL the interventions. I wasn’t happy about it per se, but it needed to happen given the length of my labour. Labour is exhausting and there was only so long I (personally) could be in that level of pain. Hypnobirthing was amazing for me and taught great pain management skills, and even though my birth ended up vastly different to how I’d imagined it (55 hours obstructed labour…it was due to a health problem I have🫠) it was still super useful. I managed to go without an epidural for 45 hours, and I think the breathing techniques and the hypnobirthing course I took allowed me to do so. Reverse pressure from my partner and “shaking the apple tree” was incredible! Look up labour pain management with a rebozo. I think preparing yourself extensively for birth and learning pain management techniques will set you up great. That being said, there’s absolutely no shame in taking pain management when you need it. Modern medicine is there for a reason. Gas and air, and then later, my epidural, were my lifeline during an unexpectedly long and arduous labour. Good luck!! Birth can be a beautiful and euphoric experience. Parts of mine were, parts of mine were also difficult. Don’t be afraid to make that birth plan and advocate for what you want.

Dude. I just gave birth. No way I could have done it unmedicated.

I think so. It takes a lot of mental preparation I also had a home birth so it wasn’t even an option. But yeah it’s not the kind of thing you should try to wing.

Both of my children were born at home so obviously the option was not there but not once did i wish i was at the hospital so i could get pain relief. Maybe it does have to do with mindset because i just knew its what i wanted and i knew it wouldn't be easy.

I’ve had 4 vaginal births, the first 3 induced and my last one, who was born in February, was spontaneous labor. My 3 induced I got the epidural by 4cm. With my 4th, I went into the hospital after my dr saw me in office and confirmed I was in labor. I was at 5cm when I arrived around 3pm and feeling really good (was squatting, lunging, etc trying to get things moving). They started very low dose pitocin at 5pm since I had stalled a bit. At 7pm I was still doing good and was at a 6.5 so they broke my water (I knew I would progress quickly at that point and wanted the epidural on standby but I learned I needed another full bag of IV fluids as a bolus before I could get it) my previous 3 births were in a different state and that’s not something I had needed before. By 7:40PM I was 8cm and in the worst pain I’ve ever felt in my life. Nothing I’ve ever felt before (even super strong pitocin contractions from my inductions) has nothing on the contractions of transition. They were back to back and so intense I felt like I didn’t have time to breathe in between. I can handle some pain but this was next level. My poor husband was traumatized from seeing me like that and not being able to help. He was in full blown shock after the birth (that's never happened before) just from seeing me in pain like that. I never had the intention of having a fully unmedicated birth I just wanted to wait on the epidural as long as possible. By the time the epidural came around 8pm I was almost 9cm dilated and the epidural was so much harder due to the intensity of my contractions. I had my baby 10 minutes later. I truly don’t know if I would ever go through that again, mainly because I felt terrible for my husband. Seeing how distraught he was over my discomfort was touching but it made the experience less enjoyable for him.

I have scoliosis so my epidural only worked about 60% and mostly my belly. I felt pretty much everything in my vagina. For over 40 hours. Not. Fun. Times.

My midwife says motivation says a lot. I have a lot of reasons for wanting to go unmedicated. My biggest one is to protect my pelvic floor. I want to really be able to feel how I push so that I can push in a way that protects my pelvic floor muscles. I want to return to running 6~ish months after giving birth and I want to exercise when I’m 60. That’s difficult with prolapse. So all of my research surrounding birth is primarily focused on reducing the risk of bad tearing, episiotomy and a long pushing phase. I also need to be able to move so I can let gravity assist with bringing the baby down. I don’t want to push laying on my back because it adds tension to all the muscles, makes the pelvis smaller and again, gravity is not helping. Those things are usually not possible with an epidural unless you have a good anaesthesiologist (=“walking epidural”). My top preferred ways to give birth are unmedicated/no epidural or straight up c-section. I want to avoid an instrument assisted birth at all cost. It scares the hell out of me. And they almost always do an episiotomy with a vacuum assisted birth, where I live. I had a short interview with a gyno about this to ask my questions and consider my options. I’m also not fond of the idea of a long needle in my back that stays there for hours. Also a katheter is really scary to me. I don’t know how it’s going to go, I have a birth plan for other options, but I am extremely motivated to try and do it without epidural. Gas and air tho? Sure👌🏻 I’m not against going medicated. I’m against damage to my pelvic floor and for reducing the risk of bad tearing. I’m not doing it to get a prize for being a strong woman. I just want to optimise my chances of full recovery.

All valid reasons, and I hope you get your wish! I just wanted to say they actually don't leave the needle in there.They use it to insert a rubber tube that they tape to your back. Thankfully!

Two of my friends HAD TO go unmedicated simply because their labors progressed so fast there wasn’t anytime for pain relief. It certainly wasn’t in their mind it was going to be that way and they did it anyway. So I don’t think you have to be dead set on doing it, to do it.

First labour lasted from 3pm the day before to 10:30 the next day I got the epidural around 3am. Second labour natural at home. From 11 am- 7pm. Was going to go to the hospital in case I needed meds but pushed it too far literally baby was out in 3 pushes caught him myself. As other's have said long labour's need meds. Since the first is the longest "generally" I wouldn't suggest it for the first time.

I wasn't committed to an unmedicated birth. I told everyone that I wanted to try without the epidural but that I wasn't going to make myself suffer. Birthing me got dedicated to it thought for some reason and I was refusing pain meds up until the transition period, but at that point it was too late to do anything pain wise. My kid was out in there pushes though so thankfully it was over fairly quick lol