Delivering Your Baby: Epidural or Natural?

If you are pregnant or are considering becoming pregnant, you will most likely be creating a "birth plan" for your due date. One of the things your ob/gyn will want you to include is how you will choose to control the inevitable pain of labor and deivery.

For many pregnant women, the thought of delivering naturally(in this case, meaning without the aid of synthetic pain medication), can be truly terrorizing. I have two children, the first birth took place utilizing an epidural, or spinal block, while the second one was completely natural; with no drugs or even Lamaze to ease the pain. I will share my experiences and pros and cons of each to shed light on the reality of both situations. Hopefully this will help lessen some anxiety so you can better prepare yourself for the big day and decide what's best for you and your baby.

When I was pregnant with my son, I didn't chart a birth plan, even though my doctor suggested it. In fact, I had never heard of such a thing until I started reading pregnancy magazines to learn more about them. I blew off the idea because I assumed it was only necessary for couples, and since my boyfriend of 5 years announced that he wasn't ready to be a father and completely withdrew from me, I basically decided to play the birth by ear. When I went into the early stages of labor, the nurse asked me if I planned to have an epidural. I wasn't sure yet, so I decided to wait a bit and see. In hindsight, the pain was not yet intolerable; the contractions were not that severe and I was only 2 centimeters dilated, and the labor was progressing very slowly, which is not uncommon for a first delivery. I feared my doctor would discharge me, but when she checked my cervix, she decided to admit me for delivery, since my cervix was favorably "paper thin". A Pitocin(drug used to to speed up contractions) drip was started, and I was given Ambien to relax and get some sleep for the night until labor had progressed. The following afternoon it hit me suddenly, and I began having longer, regular contractions. The pain was frighteningly new, and I was not looking forward to it worsening. Desperately wanting to ease the pain, I summoned the nurse and readily agreed to the epidural. Soon after, an anesthesiologist arrived with his kit of vials and sharps. Annoyingly cheerful, he asked, "So you're gonna be a mama today, eh?" I wanted to dropkick him. My contractions were becoming stonger and more consistent and I had never experienced labor pains before, so the pain was excruciatingly harsh. The epidural was administered(FINALLY!), and within ten minutes I was completely numb from the waist down. The IV is secured to your back and remains in your spinal cord so more medication can be delivered as needed. The epidural is extremely efficient and relieves discomfort rapidly, but it numbs you from the waist down so severely that you feel as if you became amputated. It caused my legs to itch(a common side effect of narcotics), although I couldn't really feel them (if that makes sense), and it also prolonged delivery, because I couldn't really feel if I was pushing hard enough to get any results and asked my ob/gyn several times if the baby was even moving down the birth canal. To my dismay, the medicine prolonged the entire ordeal, but the epidural relieved any discomfort I would have experienced, and I came out feeling like a champ. The narcotics do make you grooggy, however, and I realize in hindsight the drugs altered the experience and while it took place, I was in a dreamy and surreal fog.

Five years later...

I'm now pregnant with my daughter, and a bit more prepared this time around, married to my wonderful husband, armed with a detailed birth plan and a calm, cool demeanor. I know what to expect and have decided that this time I will ask for the epidural as soon as I arrive at the hospital so everything can occur as planned, which is outlined in my highly organized and chronographed birth plan. It never occured to me to factor in a disclaimer for life's little surprises. I went into labor two weeks early, and my water broke while I was enjoying a long, warm shower before bed. I noticed a bit of abdominal discomfort, blowing it off as the result of an enchilada dinner a few hours prior. I took some Tums and went to bed. I was awakened around 4 a.m. with the familiar pain of active labor contractions, which I recognized instantly after years of having forgotten. Ironically, they were much worse than I remembered, and felt like flames shooting from my back and encircling my abdomen, one after another, relentless and excruciating--leaving me catatonic and barely able to nudge my sleeping husband out of bed.

Rushing me to the hospital, he began to merge onto the highway in the direction the hospital where I was already registered; the one where my ob/gyn was staffed, which was about 10 miles away. Panting and wide-eyed, I realized I was rocking back and forth, my body's desperate reaction to silence the sublime pain I had no control of. I spoke in short, breathless grunts; "No! Won't make it. Need one closer", was all I could muster. It dawned on my husband and I that this baby was coming out in the next few minutes whether we were prepared or not. I struggled to fight the primal instinct to push in a vicious battle between nature and logic. There was no time for an epidural, and at this point, I was praying to just make it to a hospital before the crowning.

I was rushed to labor/delivery-teeth clenched, jaw locked and afraid to relax because the overwhelming urge to bear down was beginning to overtake me. As soon as the nurses heaved me onto the bed, I suddenly lost the fight to nature and couldn't restrain myself from pushing anymore. I literally screamed at the nurses to get a doctor in here NOW because the baby is coming! It seemed like hours, but in reality it was only moments later when a gloved brunette doctor whom I had never met before, burst into the room and as soon as she put my legs into stirrups, I involuntarily gave a strong heave, and felt this intense pain that reminded me of lightning striking. That was my daughter's head crowning, and once out, the rest of her thrusted forth rather quickly and effortlessly on the tail end of the push, which was a magnificent relief. I had just given birth naturally, and although it was unintentional, I still feel proud of the accomplishment.

There's no sugar-coating it: Delivering your baby naturally is likely the most physically painful feat you will tackle in a lifetime. The actual delivery pain is exponential compared to anything else, and though awesome and searing, it is also brief, and the over before you can reflect on what just happened. The contractions are brutal, especially the final ones that actually expel the baby, because they are lengthy and worsen as you approach the crowning of the baby's head. But once the head is out, the worst is over, and the pain is not too noticeable from that point on. Additionally, I did feel very aware of everything that took place(compared to the first birth when I had the epidural), and I feel a personal victory from having experienced something I always respected my mother(and all moms who have given birth naturally) for.

Don't get it twisted though-giving birth in itself is a miraculous feat that every mother is entitled to be proud of, whether it's natural, medicated, cesarean, etc. Perhaps it's silly, but I can't help feeling a bit 'Joan of Arc' for experiencing it naturally. I know if I survived it, any woman can.