Did you have a natural birth and then an epidural birth?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Will this be your second kid?

Third...

I mean do whatever you want but I think recovery after is easier without the epidural. Remember you have to get a catheter, for example.

I had an epidural with my first and not for second and third. I wouldn’t say I planned it that way. I requested an epidural with #2 but he was born before I could get it. And I just gave birth to #3 minutes after arriving to the hospital so it wasn’t even a consideration. Did you think your birth with #2 was easier than 1 or not? I thought 2 was easier than 3.

My birth with 2 was hard. 1 weighed 7 lbs 8 Oz. 2 weighed 9 lb 6 Oz. 3 weighed 9 lbs 3 Oz.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had an unmedicated birth with my second. My first was an emergency c-section. I really wanted a VBAC. Back then (28 years ago), very few doctors would allow it. A nurse mid-wife was willing to do it, but the practice didn’t offer epidurals. I did it. But I had no desire to do it again. I had epidurals with my last three. I wouldn’t have a root canal without medication. Given the option, why would I give birth without medication? I loved the epidural births. I was awake and aware of everything, but I didn’t have pain.

Pls stop with the root canal analogy. That's surgery. Not equivalent.

And epidurals have sequelae and side effects just like any other medical procedure. I have had bad UTIs, a kidney infection and I'm allergic to lots of antibiotics-- I didn't want a urinary catheter so I didn't get an epidural.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had an unmedicated birth with my second. My first was an emergency c-section. I really wanted a VBAC. Back then (28 years ago), very few doctors would allow it. A nurse mid-wife was willing to do it, but the practice didn’t offer epidurals. I did it. But I had no desire to do it again. I had epidurals with my last three. I wouldn’t have a root canal without medication. Given the option, why would I give birth without medication? I loved the epidural births. I was awake and aware of everything, but I didn’t have pain.

Pls stop with the root canal analogy. That's surgery. Not equivalent.

And epidurals have sequelae and side effects just like any other medical procedure. I have had bad UTIs, a kidney infection and I'm allergic to lots of antibiotics-- I didn't want a urinary catheter so I didn't get an epidural.

I have run marathons and I don’t like the marathon comparisons LOL

[Anonymous]

I did unmedicated and was like "NEVER AGAIN" and had a glorious epidural the next time. I regret nothing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I did unmedicated and was like "NEVER AGAIN" and had a glorious epidural the next time. I regret nothing.

I will say never again is I think the first thing I told my husband when my second baby emerged. I’m waffling anyways! I definitely told myself though at the time!

[Anonymous]

All births are natural, OP.

[Anonymous]

Um, on the "bright" side, you can still have an incredibly painful birth even with an epidural. I had an epidural but my baby was posterior and had to be turned by the midwife reaching in there. You feel it, no matter how much you press the "moar epidural pls" button. (I was also told that the hospital I delivered at gives "light" epidurals on purpose so that women don't fail to progress bc they can't feel enough to push.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had epidurals for my first and third, and unmedicated for my second. The first was SO long that it wasn't that much better than the unmedicated one, which was relatively fast and painful AF.

The third was an elective induction and pretty easy. After pitocin doing nothing, I got an epidural, the midwife broke my water, and I delivered less than two hours later. Pushed for maybe 15 minutes? It was really great. With both epidurals, I could feel enough to shift positions somewhat, and when to push. I have a girlfriend who also did unmedicated and then had an epidural, and she loved it. I'm glad I had the experience of delivering unmedicated, and that would have been my choice with the third, but I had painful complications for the last six weeks of pregnancy, and I was kind of done with pain.

Be careful with saying childbirth with an epidural doesn't "look like childbirth"--there are many ways to birth children, epidural or no, C-section or no. The romanticizing of unmedicated childbirth has really got to stop.

Thanks. Sounds like a vote "for".

By look like birth i just meant look like MY births, whatsoever.

It's definitely a vote for if you're feeling nervous about doing unmedicated again. You've done it twice, you feel nervous, why not give yourself the gift of feeling more relaxed? I also agree with another PP who said that the epidural makes for more effective pushing because she wasn't "frantic" with pain--I felt exactly the same way. Like, oh, this can be easy and calm? Sweet. (Discounting my first again because I'd been laboring so long--that sucks in a different way than the pain of unmedicated.)

I think I'm also afraid of the epidural. I would like the gift of more relaxed! I just hear stories about epidurals gone wrong, causing various side effects and so forth. I don't want to introduce something that isn't calm at all when at least I know I can do this the way I have before, I have some confidence.

Most of the time, there aren't side effects or problems with epidurals. Most of the time, they work great. I was scared of the epidural the first time, too, and it was NBD and such a gift. I had catheters with no complications (and I've been hospitalized with urosepsis, so I know UTIs). I don't know. Maybe it's worth talking through your epidural fears with a provider you trust? The odds are high that things will be fine whichever way you choose, and also high that if you get an epidural, it will work as it's supposed to.

[Anonymous]

Yes. I loved the epidural the most. While it was different than unmediated, looking back I feel like that was some kind of nightmare that went on forever. My epidural birth was calm, I remember everything and I could focus on baby. I still felt my legs and easily knew when to push. I was rested after birth. With my first I had a 36 hour pitocin non medicated. I felt like a wreck, didn’t sleep for weeks and had waaaay too many hospital visitors. With my third, I slept through the first night of pitocin, played cards until transition, then I was rested and remember my sweet baby being handed to me. I felt like myself and I felt like I was more in the moment with the epidural. Tore less too because I wasn’t wild and crazy with uncontrolled pushing.

[Anonymous]

I hadn’t an epidural for my first but went unmedicated for my second. The second delivery was easier and faster. Labor still hurts either way but I also recovered faster from my second. Maybe because it was my second and maybe because it was a natural birth. I had much more milk too with the second and it came in much much faster. No clue if it’s connected.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Um, on the "bright" side, you can still have an incredibly painful birth even with an epidural. I had an epidural but my baby was posterior and had to be turned by the midwife reaching in there. You feel it, no matter how much you press the "moar epidural pls" button. (I was also told that the hospital I delivered at gives "light" epidurals on purpose so that women don't fail to progress bc they can't feel enough to push.)

+1. I find this conversation confusing. I had an epidural at 10 cm with my first and then pushed for over 3 hours. I assure you the pushing was not controlled or pain free. I was out of my mind with crazy pressure and pain by the end. My baby was also posterior and had to turn before he could come out.

[Anonymous]

I had a history of fast labors and wanted it to go fast, so I chose no epidural and from first contraction to baby it was about five hours.

[Anonymous]

1 - unmedicated - hard but positive birth
2- unmedicated - back labor and traumatic
3- medicated - very positive
4- induced and medicated - even more positive

I vote medicated

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hadn’t an epidural for my first but went unmedicated for my second. The second delivery was easier and faster. Labor still hurts either way but I also recovered faster from my second. Maybe because it was my second and maybe because it was a natural birth. I had much more milk too with the second and it came in much much faster. No clue if it’s connected.

I do think second births are easier in general. Mine was much easier. Now I’m just aiming for easiest of all.

[Anonymous]

One recommendation if you go the epidural route is to have a doula. My doula moved me around when I couldn’t and had all sorts of positioning tricks.