How bad is it giving birth without an epidural?

Found it much better without any meds tbh. First born I had epidural and she was by far the worst labour exoerience out of the 3.

I’ve always been told it depends on your pain tolerance. I have a pretty high pain tolerance and it was excruciating. Definitely not trying to scare you but it felt like a blow torch was being held up to me. The nurse asked if it felt like a ring of fire and I think that is the perfect way to describe it. With all of that being said, I would push through that pain a billion times over for my little girl so…. You do what works best for you. Talk to your Dr. about other pain relief options because an epidural is definitely not your only option.

I had 4 kids. First 2, c-section. Third, vbac, no pain medication. It was rough. Fourth, definitely had a epidural. Lol

I have given birth with and epidural and without and it wasn’t too much difference for me personally. The contractions were just more intense but that helped me know better when to push. With my first, I couldn’t feel a thing and I had to watch the monitor to know when I was contracting so I could push and that kinda ruined the birth experience for me.

I had pit drip both times and no epidural both times. It was brutal. Yes I know women did it since forever. And it’s natural. But…… can you handle it? Sure, lots of women do. It’s still brutal. It’s not the same for all women. Some have it easier, some don’t. I did not. I labored for 77 hours the first time and five days the second in a hospital that didn’t do epidural for childbirth. Pit drip made it worse. Eclampsia made it worse. There are so many factors to consider. Your Dr and you are the only ones that can work that out. You’ll know when the time comes what you can do.

I had my first baby 100% natural and it is painful but as soon as the baby is born it’s like you forget about that pain. Remember our bodies are made to do this! Try not to get yourself too worried! You for this!

I’ve had 2 with and 2 without an epidural. My youngest daughter came very quickly and it hurt really bad, but once she came out the pain was gone. The perks of no epidural is I was free to get up and walk, change positions etc. Which was really nice.

I wouldn’t go that route. My friend did go that route because she said it will drug the baby,….I’m not a fan of pain and I took the epidural. It wore off and I just took the pain meds and I only felt the contractions and I pooped my daughter out (it felt like I pooped) lol. I say go the medication route.

Depends. I had my first with no meds unintentionally cause labor went so fast. 2nd they gave me epidural cause cord was wrapped around his neck and possibility of emergency C-section, wasn’t needed. The baby was born naturally 15 minutes after epidural so it didn’t really help. Now my 3rd baby (11 years later) was overdue and I was induced. Labor started but had arrested decent and needed emergency c-section. Those contractions from being induced were the worst pain I’ve ever been in in my life. Much worse than the other 2 births

I did not have an epidural in a while it was painful. I don’t think it was unbearable.

it really depends. I feel like if you have a fast labour it is easier to do without epidural… but like… ive had 37 and 17 hr labours with epidurals and deffinitly needed 1 of them…lol. but doing without the epidural was so empowering!i was so proud of myself! Deffinitly something i would do again…

I think it all depends on how fast ur labor goes what kinda of contraction u have ect…my first I was induced bc water broke wouldn’t dilate 22hr horrible contraction 2nd and 3rd I had no epidural felt like period cramps had 2nd at home 3rd drove myself to hospital dilated to ten once got there he came just as quick…I would say stay fit exercise it will help with the labor for sure our bodies are made for this the pain fades very quickly

Your body will do what it needs to do. I had one birth with an epidural and one without and I MUCH prefer the one without. And she was over 11 pounds! You’ll surprise yourself with how much you can do.:heart:

I really thinks it depends on the person and how much pain you can tolerate. It hurts the contractions all that. I also feel it depends how your labor is progressing. I have a high pain tolerance my 2nd delivery was only 1 hr got her out 3 pushes no epidural pain was gone immediately after.

It is literally impossible for your baby to have an allergic reaction to an epidural…it doesn’t ever go into the baby’s bloodstream.

You can’t not base others birth experiences or even allergies on yours/your baby’s.

I suggest having your obgyn talk to you and Dad about this more.

I gave birth twice without an epidural but I did use other pain med options and they helped me a ton. My first the labor was definitely easier than my second. His was intense and I wanted the epidural but was progressing too fast and they wouldn’t do it.

LAMAZE!! I have given birth x6 without epidural. 2 over 9 lbs. It can be done. Educate yourself. Practice,practice,practice. Breathing and relaxation. Walk alot. Eat right. Stay hydrated.

I have given birth 5 times.
First 4 I had no epidural. Last one I did.
It’s painful. Nobody can deny that. However, as painful as labour and delivery is, it’s equally exhausting. Like running a marathon full speed but not being allowed to stop, lol
I was incredibly lucky that all of my labour’s were quick. Anywhere from 4 hrs to 1 hr. Pushing lasted from 15 minutes to 4 minutes.
So, with that being said, I wasn’t enduring for as long as I could have been.
My last one was induced and it carried on longer than the others (also, I was nearing 39 years old) and I took the epidural because everything about it was unfamiliar (different than the others).
I know fit, young women who have had healthy pregnancies get stuck in labour for 20+hours. No epidural can be so so hard.
Problem is, you never know until it happens how long it will last.
Good luck to your wife.

I gave birth with no pain relief and I was fine, it actually didn’t hurt that much I was more bothered by the stitches as I tore slightly.
Depends on you individually plus some women have really quick labours so no time either. My waters broke and 90mins later my daughter was born, she’s my first.
Try not to overthink it (hard I know!) as anxiety can make it worse, trust your body and the midwives know what they are doing.
Best thing I did was have no birth plan whatsoever as birth never goes how we plan xx

It’s sucks. But just bc your BF had an issue does not mean you nor the baby will. I think you need to discuss with medical professionals. Is it in his charts that he’s allergic or is this a “there was a complication and his mom is blaming the epidural” type of issue?

I’ve had 2 unmediated births. Honestly, I feel like it isn’t as bad as everyone says it is but also everyone’s pain tolerance is different. My first was only 4hrs and my second was 14hrs AND I was given pitocin for that one. Just gotta breathe and tell yourself you can do it. It’s all about your mindset honestly! I plan to do another unmediated birth if I ever have another.:woman_shrugging:t2:

It’s all about you ability to see your end goal. It’s alot of pain, like ungodly pain but the good news is, right when you feel like you litterally can’t take a second more of it is when you baby is being born. You’ll most likely be so exhausted that you’ll start to black out a bit and be in a haze, that’s when your instincts kick in. Your body will do most of the work for you.

Terrified of needle in my spine. All 4 , I had demerol to relax. It really is over quick. Stitches on all 4
Big babies. The worst part was when they squeezed my uterus down to size