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[quote=Anonymous]With my first pregnancy I asked for and got the epidural as soon as the pain got fairly intense. I think that was around 5 cm but I'm not sure. I "labored" for another 5 hours or so and then pushed for an hour. But the 5 hours of "laboring" were great. I spent the afternoon watching Millionaire Matchmaking and napping, and had a totally pain free birth.

I fully intended to have an epidural with my second child too, but labor progressed very quickly. I'd only been contracting for an hour or so when I went to the hospital, but I was already 4-5 cm. I told them I wanted an epidural right away, but intake took some time, then they had to wait to get some IV fluids in me. In the meantime the contractions got worse and worse, and before I knew it I was telling the doctor I needed to push. She checked me again and though I'd only been at the hospital for about an hour I was already fully dilated. A few pushes later and the baby was out.

I never thought I'd go the unmedicated route, as I have a low pain tolerance and see no reason to endure pain unnecessarily, but it really was okay. And the contractions are far worse than the pushing, which I didn't realize. I tell you this just in case you find yourself in a situation where you can't get an epidural.

On another note, my recovery from my epidural birth was very slow. It took a good six weeks before I felt back to normal; I was in some serious pain during that period. Whereas with my non medicated birth, I feel fine now just a week later. So all told the total amount of pain was way more with the epidural than without. Just saying.

Good luck! Whatever happens, you'll survive and get a baby at the end.[/quote]

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