Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've never had an epidural, but just wanted to say that pushing is the best feeling of the entire labor process. It's very (pain) relieving.

Seriously? I guess if you like feeling like your vag is being ripped apart. I could not disagree more. For me the sensation was akin to Braveheart being quartered like in the movie, except it was happening in my rectum and vagina. That’s why I would never encourage anyone to go for a natural
Birth. It was horrifically painful.

I had a natural birth and it didn’t hurt much, mostly felt relief. But my baby was very slender.

I had an epidural with my first and it only numbed one side of my body.

Anonymous wrote:I've never had an epidural, but just wanted to say that pushing is the best feeling of the entire labor process. It's very (pain) relieving.

Seriously? I guess if you like feeling like your vag is being ripped apart. I could not disagree more. For me the sensation was akin to Braveheart being quartered like in the movie, except it was happening in my rectum and vagina. That’s why I would never encourage anyone to go for a natural
Birth. It was horrifically painful.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For people that had no epidural and a worse experience than with an epidural, were you with an OB or midwifery practice? I’m just wondering if it could be related to OBs not knowing how to handle the lack of epidural. (It could also be unrelated, but this is an online forum and not science, so I’m just wondering)

I delivered twice with epidurals and once without (my choice), all with midwives. The epidural-free was staggeringly painful, though I wouldn't describe it as a "worse" experience. It just hurt a hell of a lot more. My midwives supported me in all three births.

I hope you're not trying to make the argument that pain in unmedicated labor is largely a function of tension or stress or whatever. It hurts because it hurts, at least for most women. My midwives were with me the entire time I was pushing, and for as much of the labor before that as they could be. My nurse was with me as much as possible, too. Even when they know how to support women who labor unmedicated, most women still find it physically painful (again, not worse, more painful).

Thanks to all that have chime in in this question so far. Interesting to know the views of people that have experienced both cases. For PP, I was just wondering if it was related to the mode of care of as others said it’s mostly luck.

Delivered 2 babies without an epidural and for me the contractions/transition period was very painful. The pushing was not painful in my experience nor was the baby coming out. I tore badly both times. They used lidocaine to stitch me up so that didn’t hurt.

I've never had an epidural, but just wanted to say that pushing is the best feeling of the entire labor process. It's very (pain) relieving.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For people that had no epidural and a worse experience than with an epidural, were you with an OB or midwifery practice? I’m just wondering if it could be related to OBs not knowing how to handle the lack of epidural. (It could also be unrelated, but this is an online forum and not science, so I’m just wondering)

What would make you think that? Do you think OBs never deliver without an epidural?

OBs are better prepared for complications and see way more cases with epidurals. Just wondering if among the cases in the forum there’s a pattern or if it’s all the same.

OBs see a lot of cases without epidurals, too.

I think there is little to no difference between midwives and OBs if you're talking about patients with low preexisting risk and few preexisting conditions having a singleton birth.

Anonymous wrote:For people that had no epidural and a worse experience than with an epidural, were you with an OB or midwifery practice? I’m just wondering if it could be related to OBs not knowing how to handle the lack of epidural. (It could also be unrelated, but this is an online forum and not science, so I’m just wondering)

OBs understand pain management. It's ridiculous to assume that only midwives understand pain management.

It's my belief that at the end of the day how much pain (for a normal natural birth, not a birth requiring unusual steps, intervention, surgery, etc.) you feel is determined mostly by factors that are out of your control by the time delivery day rolls around and doesn't have much to do with who is overseeing your actual birth.

If anything your prenatal care will have more have to do with it than care on the day of (again, assuming no complications which require intervention). A huge baby (which is partially luck/genetics, but also proper prenatal care if there's diabetes can keep the baby from becoming HUGE in some cases) is going to be more painful to deliver naturally and may bring complications. Poor maternal nutrition also is going to cause more weakness in the mother.

More than anything, there's a lot of luck of the draw and other factors that are determined way before. Whether you have a fast or slow labor (assuming a first child) is mostly luck. Precipitous labor is going to last far less time (though it can be more intense/scary) but it is mostly luck and genetics that determines whether you go into precipitous labor. Some women have 'back labor" but again, they can't predict if this is going to be you.

Pain tolerance varies from person to person and that's shaped by a variety of factors, too.

Anonymous wrote:For people that had no epidural and a worse experience than with an epidural, were you with an OB or midwifery practice? I’m just wondering if it could be related to OBs not knowing how to handle the lack of epidural. (It could also be unrelated, but this is an online forum and not science, so I’m just wondering)

I delivered twice with epidurals and once without (my choice), all with midwives. The epidural-free was staggeringly painful, though I wouldn't describe it as a "worse" experience. It just hurt a hell of a lot more. My midwives supported me in all three births.

I hope you're not trying to make the argument that pain in unmedicated labor is largely a function of tension or stress or whatever. It hurts because it hurts, at least for most women. My midwives were with me the entire time I was pushing, and for as much of the labor before that as they could be. My nurse was with me as much as possible, too. Even when they know how to support women who labor unmedicated, most women still find it physically painful (again, not worse, more painful).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For people that had no epidural and a worse experience than with an epidural, were you with an OB or midwifery practice? I’m just wondering if it could be related to OBs not knowing how to handle the lack of epidural. (It could also be unrelated, but this is an online forum and not science, so I’m just wondering)

What would make you think that? Do you think OBs never deliver without an epidural?

OBs are better prepared for complications and see way more cases with epidurals. Just wondering if among the cases in the forum there’s a pattern or if it’s all the same.

I had forceps and vacuum and third degree tear during 4 hours of pushing for my first. Just felt pressure.

Second, I didn’t get the epidural until I was ready to push, and I had no problem pushing out the baby in a few minutes. You just have to push down from your diaphragm basically.

Anonymous wrote:For people that had no epidural and a worse experience than with an epidural, were you with an OB or midwifery practice? I’m just wondering if it could be related to OBs not knowing how to handle the lack of epidural. (It could also be unrelated, but this is an online forum and not science, so I’m just wondering)

What would make you think that? Do you think OBs never deliver without an epidural?

Couldn’t feel a single thing with epidurals with both my babies except for very slight pressure during contractions. The nurses told me both times that I would “know” when to push but that was not true at all. I pushed when they told me too and even though I couldn’t feel a thing they were both out within 5 pushes. With my second the nurse made me wait around for several hours after I was fully dilated, telling me I would “know” but I finally got sick of waiting and just told them I needed to push (even though I didn’t) and it went just as well as the first time.

I could feel my contractions but no pain with epidural so I knew when to push- it was fine

For people that had no epidural and a worse experience than with an epidural, were you with an OB or midwifery practice? I’m just wondering if it could be related to OBs not knowing how to handle the lack of epidural. (It could also be unrelated, but this is an online forum and not science, so I’m just wondering)