What are your opinions or thoughts about epidurals?

I personally Choose not to get a epidural but I don't believe that makes me a stronger women because of it. I believe to each their own. If they want a epidural to make it better for them, than they have the choice to do so. I have good friends and family who have had epidurals and I myself did not.. and don't try to make them feel less like a mother because they DID NOT HAVE as much pain as me.. I think maybe you should just step off you high horse for a moment... Now women who immediately say they are going to get one.. I think are being a little childish.. because if you get it before you even feel much pain than how do you know if you could not handle it? I think that women who go in with a open mind about what they want is a good thing.. but don't make them feel bad because they choose a epidural it will make them more relaxed which will help with their birthing process.. The is a reason why there are choice it out there.. because not ONE SHOE FITS ALL!

I didn't want to take the pain any longer. I had no interest in knowing what natural childbirth was like. I got a glimpse and that was enough for me,

Why ask for people's opinions when you already know your views on this topic? What are you just looking for internet friends to bash on people who choose to get epidurals?

So are you saying that having a c-section which i had was not REAL childbirth? I was offered an epidural but refused it and asked to be put to sleep during my c-section. I can tell you that when my sister got her epidural they stuck the needle to far into her spine/back and it caused her to go paralyze the day she went home because from where they had stuck it in too far it cause her to have air pockets in her brain, had she not gotten to the hospital when she did i would say she would have suffered brain damage or death. They did a bloodpatch on her and she got alright and do you know she could not sue the hospital because she had signed the papers on the epidural. I would not get one just because of that. Which i had my son way before she had her daughter. I chose not to be awake during my c-section knowing i would be getting cut wide opened. I had a horrible pregnancy with throwing up from the time i was 2 months pregnant until the day i had my son at 35 weeks. I also had pre-eclampsia & he was breech. I think a c-section is worse pain than natural childbirth even though i have not went through it but my mom had 7 kids (5 natural, 2 by c-section) and she said that having a baby vaginally is easy compared to a c-section. You can get up and walk the same day you give birth naturally but you cannot do that when you have a c-section so tell me could you handle a c-section?

Yes, people used to have no choice but to have a child naturally, but people also used to die from things like the flu. Medicine has advanced, and so have the methods of childbirth. For instance, all of the women in my family are very small. They all also have had very, very large babies. My mother is 4'10" and one of my brothers (she had 5 children) was about 10 lbs when she had him. So, getting nice and drugged up was the BEST option for her. My sister is small as well. She has two children, and both of them had to be born via c-section. There is NOTHING wrong with not wanting/being able to give birth "naturally." It's not a sign of weakness. Hell, if wanting an epidural means I'm a pussy, then all of the women who are on birth control are ******* for messing with the natural way their body works in order to avoid pregnancy and childbirth. That makes for a LOT of weak women, doesn't it? What about taking vitamins? Weakness. Right? Because we shouldn't have to alter anything to make ourselves more comfortable or to make our lives a little easier. Women didn't start out taking loads of vitamins, but we all know what can happen to a child if its nutrition isn't up to par. Different strokes for different folks. It doesn't make us weak, it makes us different.

i had my oldest by c-section so i had no choice but to have one. i wanted to do 2nd child natural because i didnt get the choice the first time i felt like a failure so i did it natural in labor with her for 26 hours. that sucked! i went with the epidural the 3rd time. i wasnt stupid that time. hahah. loved it went my easier. i could relax and labor went faster. im all for epidurals. i cant have any more kids but i choose them. well guess what! welcome to the world c-sections are part of giving birth now! and they come along with epidurals. so if you dont want to know our opinion about epidurals than dont ask the ?. its still REAL childbirth with an epidural!!!!!!!!!!! i didnt know just because you choose to have one it all of a sudden became non real. you still leave the hospital with a real baby. not a plastic one. there is no book on life and whats real and whats not about chidbirth. to each their own. some can handle the pain more than others. im a very strong woman but let me tell you i thank God for epidurals!!!!!!!!!!! if we as women were suppose to experience real childbirth everytime then there would be no such thing as an epidural!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I wanted to have a natural childbirth, but ended up having to have a c-section. I have permanent damage from the spinal they gave me and when I asked my doctor about it she said that if most women know that 1 in 7 people will have complications from the epidural/spinal that they wouldn't be so keen to get it. I know that falls under the special medical needs category, but I felt the need to reply, if I could applaud on this thing, I would. I happen to agree with you 110%, and I know I will get downrated for it, but so be it. The only exception is in the case of a woman being induced because I know that the drugs they give you to speed up labor also cause your contractions to become even more painful.

lol, what do you REALLY think? :) I'm with you predominantly. With my first, I needed an epidural because unfortunately my water began leaking and for whatever reason I was NOT dilating at all, and didn't budge past 4 cm and they were threatening c section, so I got the epidural (the pain became unbelievably intense) and because of that, I was able to relax enough to fully dilate within just a few hours and avoided a c section (THANK GOD!)... with my second I only had the IV drugs after I was 8 cm... but then with our third, I didn't get any drugs and can promise, by far, that is my FAVORITE experience. I went into the hospital at 8 cm with both my second and third and with our third, by not getting drugs, plus having a midwife do the delivery, it was amazing... I don't think that it's about being "weak" but women are being lied to and persuaded that literally, drugs are a "natural" part of labor (all you have to do is look at how many get drugs vs how many go fully natural) and if you don't get any form of drugs, you're almost a "freak" in our day and age. Women are being treated like they are too weak to deliver as God intended (but like you said, there are MEDICALLY NECESSARY times to get drugs to avoid a more drastic scenario like a c section for example)... what's worse, since women are being lied to about their abilities, they are being robbed and cheated of experiencing the miracle that enduring the pain brings when that baby is given to you after he or she is born... I LOVE the film "The Business of Being Born" and it discusses how c sections and drugs have affected (negatively) the whole birthing process, I HIGHLY recommend that film to ALL pregnant women! http://www.watch-movies.net/movies/the_business_of_being_born/ ADD: ***I want to clarify when I said with my first I had the epidural because of the pain. They gave me pitocin (I will REFUSE it if they try to give it to me this time, screw that crap!) and it made my contractions UNNATURALLY close together and was unnaturally painful (it's man made oxytocin so of course the consequence is it creates an unnatural labor experience almost forcing you to get a drug because the pain is worse than any natural labor pain, and I had some HORRIBLE labor pain, but when it was naturally painful, I was able to bear it through breathing techniques, as God intends it... if that makes sense)...

I wont say anything negative about your opinions or choices, just like I wouldn't want anyone to say anything negative about mine. The people who are bashing you really have nothing better to do. Anyways, I went into my labor planning on having a natural child birth. My water broke around 5AM, and I stayed at home laboring until around 8AM. By noon, I was in horrible pain. My baby was "sunny-side up" meaning her spine was against mine, which caused horrible back labor. I kept insisting on having her naturally. I tried so hard. The pain was so bad that it was making me throw up. My contractions were 2 minutes apart for 5 hours, but I was only 4 centimeters dialated. Finally, around 6PM, I got an epidural, both at the urging of my boyfriend and my doctor. I progressed much faster after that because I was able to relax. I dont regret doing it. I gave it my best, but I guess I just couldnt handle it anymore. Luckily, the epidural made the pushing phase go quicker because my daughters heart rate dropped mid way through, and the doctor had to get her out very fast. Had I been feeling everything, she probably wouldnt have come out as fast as she did. I dont regret and epidural. If I have another baby, I'll try to go naturally again.