I had pain medication with all of my 4 births. They were all induced. Being induced can make your labor more intense and harder. In my case, after I had the epidural, my labors flew (except with my third...she had the cord around her and it would not let her "fall"). In lamaz class they tell you to relax through the contractions...give me a break. They hurt like hell. After the epidural, I was finally able to relax and my body did what it was supposed to due. What I did in my last three births was have them put the epidural cathidor (sp?) in me before they induced me. If the pain got too unbearable, I would be ready for the medication which they administer into your IV (I think...but don't quote me). You could consider this as an option. You don't have to take the medicine, but if you want it, you are ready. As far as being able to feel to push, I felt a different sensation with every one of mine. The first, I could not feel a thing...completely numb. The second, I was numb only on my right side. The third, I felt nothing from chest up and thigh down. My fourth was a dream. They induced me (I have an incompetent cervix..that is why I am always induced) at 12:30. At 1:00 I got the epidoral medication and fell asleep. At 3:40 I woke up because the contractions were getting stronger. The nurse came in and checked me. I was ready to push. I was numb enough to not feel the completion of the contraction, but could feel enough to push. I slept through the whole thing. My cousin had her first a few months ago. She wanted to do it with no drugs...kept saying she wanted to "feel" labor. We kept saying...no you don't. If you are one of those very lucky women who have a very mild labor or have a natural high tolerance for pain.......consider yourself extremely lucky. Otherwise, you don't want to feel labor. Labor is one thing, but when it comes time to push, you might wish you had something. That is what happened with my cousin. She labored fairly well and not very long, but when it came time to push, she just screamed. She pushed for 2 hours with no medication. And let me tell you, if you are worried about your baby being "groggy" after having an epidural, think about the possibility that that baby could be in the birth canal for longer than it needs to be because you are in so much pain, you can't focus. Birth is extremely stressful on an infant. In my opinion, get it over as soon as you can. I have not heard of one story where a women or her baby suffered any side effects due to an epidural. I personally see no reason to endure that pain if you don't need to. I am all for trying to have a natural birth, but, please leave the option of using some form of pain relief open. You have no idea how your body is going to handle labor and delivery. I am not saying this to make myself sound like an authority or that you have no idea what you are talking about, but you truly have no idea how much labor is going to hurt. You may think you do, but you have no idea. The women above that did not use any pain medication are super women in my opinion. You have no idea how much pain labor is. You are definatly doing the right thing by exploring all of your options.....that is what I did also. The main goal is to not only have a healthy baby, but also a healthy mom as well. I have a friend who has four also. She didn't use any medication with any of her births. She didn't even want to hold her babies right after they were born. She was so glad they were finally out and she was done with the pain. That was all that she could focus on...she was finally pain free. I may have offended some people with this post...and if I did, I am sorry. I just get a little worried about a first time mom who is so focused on having a drug free delivery. I worry that she may be setting herself up for a let down if she does have to have drugs of some sort. If the drugs were a bad thing, they would not let us moms use them. A healthy baby...and mom..is what is important in the end.
Kim
Kim