On Tue, 11 May 2004 12:48:54 -0400, Shannon
wrote:


Has anyone experienced a birth that was unmedicated and you went past
the point where you could have an epidural and it became unbearable?

Yes. For my third baby I got to the point where I thought the pain was
unbearable and yelled for an epidural. I couldn't manage to keep still
enough for them to even get an IV in prior to the epidural. I then saw
the midwife wave away the Dr telling him it was too late for either an
IV or an epidrual.

After that, when I just accepted that this was it, the pain was
*heaps* easier. The birth was fantastic. I gave birth almost standing
up. The midwives threw sheets and pillows on the ground and "caught"
my baby - with me standing up and yelling "don't you dare drop him,
make sure you catch good!" (I must also confess I could hear Todd
Gastaldo in my head during this birth - I wasn't determined to give
birth in any particular position but the pain was minimalised when I
was standing in a kind of standing squat IYKWIM?)

I've had one birth with a full, numbing epidural, another with a
walking epidural and an unmedicated birth. The complete epidural wiped
me out for days, they used *huge* forceps, I had an episiotomy and I
had heaps of pain afterwards, could hardly sit down. The "walking
epidural" just numbed the pain a little, but enough to stop me
freaking out. I felt fantastic after this birth - no pain (except for
normal afterpains). The third unmedicated birth resulted in no pain
(afterpains though, of course) but I was physicallly exhausted, felt
like I'd run two marathons.

H