Pain Options

Hello Friends & Family--

Disclaimer before I begin, I am no expert on pain intervention by any means. Nor do I think my choices are right for everyone. All of what I either am stating are facts that I've learned through my books & classes or is solely my opinion. Please don't take any of this as "what you should do" as we all know each pregnancy and woman's pain tolerance is different!

So now that that's clear, let me dive into in why I don't want to have an epidural if I can avoid it. I've done a bit of reading on my own that state both the negative and positives to having some sort of pain intervention during labor. Most of my friends and other people I know have all opted to go for the pain intervention routes, so I'm kind of walking solo with this one.

Narcotics that are given through an IV are an option throughout most of labor. I know that any kind of narcotics are probably not for me b/c of the effect of sedation and drowsiness. Plus these options do transfer to the baby, which I hate the thought of. I personally want to be present in the birth and not in some drug la la land. Granted that's not the case for every woman, but I don't want to risk it. Nor do I want to risk the baby feeling any of those side effects. Unless they offer something that I know I've had no symptoms from in prior instances and they can assure me the baby won't feel the effects, these narcotics are probably out.

This is an example of the actual epidural needle. There is another needle (thinner) that is used to give the local anesthetic.

As far as an actual epidural, I think my biggest complaint is that once you've received one you are then confined to the birthing bed. They don't want to risk you potentially falling, which is completely understandable. The walking epidural is not an option at Meriter either. I just know on a personal level I'd like to be able to walk and stand as needed. Obviously, the need to change positions and be out of the bed comes from comfort levels, which if you had an epidural you'd be near pain free. And unable to feel your legs and move positions on your own. I feel very strongly that since this pain comes and goes, there is a relief period that would break through for at least a small amount of time! There are many risks involved with an epidural: spinal headache, spinal block issues, entering the spinal sac, etc... The plus side to an epidural is that the numbing effects do not transfer to the baby. There's a lot more to this than what I have listed, but I feel like this is already very lengthy :) Look at me talking like I've had a baby before. I'm sure when I'm in the situation my thoughts may be much different. I guess we'll find out.

I think I should also state that if I cannot bear the pain you better believe I'll be asking for an epidural! I am in no means willing to deny myself something if I know I need it just to be tough. That's not my intention whatsoever. I think it's good for everyone to have a basic game plan when it comes to pain options and be well educated. But it's equally important to be willing to throw that game plan out the window if things don't go as intended! Having a baby is about going with the flow right?

Do any of my ramblings make sense? This is a hard one to lay out there b/c a lot of it is just a personal preference.


Love,

Chris, Amber & Baby Z