Did you ladies opt for an epidural during labor? Would you make the same choice again? I have a friend who says she would not, the inability to move yourself around was awful and it did nothing for back labor pains. Thoughts before I have to decide?

Would like to emphasize that you don’t have to “decide” now and you can change your mind at any point.

I got an epidural for all 3 of my children. Zero regrets.

Got an epidural and loved it! It allowed me to get a full night’s sleep before active labor started the next day, during which I (painlessly) pushed for 10 min. 20/10 would highly recommend!

Everyone’s experience may be different so it’s really hard. You’re going to hear a lot of “10/10, wouldn’t change a thing, I loved it” responses and a lot of “I absolutely hated it” responses. It’s unfortunately so variable - and also, no wrong answer.

For me, I’ve given birth twice. Both times I went in with the mindset that I didn’t want it but wasn’t opposed if it felt like the right call in the moment. The first time, I was induced and in labor for a very long time and decided to get it to see if I could get a little sleep before came time to push, because it had been nearly 2 nights in the hospital without sleep and I was worried I’d be too exhausted by the time things ramped up. It crashed my blood pressure and simultaneously my baby’s heart rate. There was talk of immediate c section and paperwork signed in case they had to make that quick decision. I physically felt awful, including lots and lots of vomiting. I hated not being able to feel a single thing or move, I still ended up being in labor for many more hours and had to have a nurse come flip me from side to side every hour or so. I lost so much control over my own body.

My experience is the exception, an uncommon one. But I wish I had heard more stories like this before deciding because I was picturing this wonderful pleasant experience that so many people loved. And… it was not that.

I got an epidural, and I absolutely loved it. Needed it. I was in so much pain and it took it away. I did feel numb and like my legs were a million pounds each but I’d do it again to take the contraction pain away.

Birthed 4 children. ALL had to be induced at 41 weeks because they weren’t going anywhere. I wanted to see how far I could go with the pain each time. At some point, I was like ‘F this. I get it. I don’t need any more to know what this will feel like.” 1 to 22 hours later, a baby arrived. And in those 1 to 22 hours, I got to sleep, laugh, read, meditate.
There is no “right” plan. Everyone I know who had a birth plan was hit HARD by PPD because things didn’t go according to The Plan. So consider not having a plan, trusting your doctors, listening to your body, and forgiving yourself if you need an epidural or a C-section. If you and your baby walk out of the hospital ALIVE, then that is success. Good luck ❤️

I have a v high tolerance as well - did 2 epis and tried to do for my 3rd but it wore off right when I needed it. That “ring of fire” is REAL, but on the whole it wasn’t that bad. Still I’m glad I did the epi and no side effects for me.

And just to the point above, you can change your mind but only to a certain point! In my case it was too late, but natural ended up being fine.

I got induced (which takes 24 hours) ...let me preface this by saying I'm one of the few women who had the pleasure of not having pain with contractions... I was on pitocin, contractions were peaking but I felt only "flutters" of movement..my ob suggested I take the epi because it was awake for the 24+ hours and she figured laying in bed would help me calm down.... 30 mins later baby's heart rate dropped and I was turned to my side to start pushing...baby was out in no time. I didn't have any lasting effects from the epi and the overall process to get it in was easy and pain free....


as others have said this isn't something you have to "opt in" to now ... you can change your mind at any time.

As mentioned in the comments above, every birth experience is unique so definitely do what’s best for you and what feels right at the time. You can document your birth plan but staying flexible is helpful as you can always change your mind depending on how you feel, how you may experience pain, how long you’ve been in labor for etc.

I had the epidural for both of my kids and don’t regret it at all. I do think the timing of it matters though. For my first, i was induced and the contractions became too painful for me to handle so the epidural allowed me to rest and get some sleep for a couple hours, which I needed. I did feel fully numb but gave birth very shortly after so I didn’t mind being in bed at that point. For my second, I got the epidural also but the dosage felt better managed, I was not in pain but I didn’t feel completely numb either and I really like it. I had minor complications and they had to pull my baby out fast so with that plus the stitches, I was glad to have the epidural and not experience pain.

Had two births - no epidural and don’t regret it. Last one was a Pitocin induction and the pain was crazy but in general I try to limit unnecessary interventions (which come with its own set of side effects). Do what’s best for you but I’m 100% proud of my decision and would do it again.

No epidural for my two births. I liked moving around and labor went so quickly. Pushed for 10 min my first time, then only 2 times for my second 😂. For the back labor pains, nurse can tell your husband where to apply the counter pressure to make the pain more bearable.

PS. I have very very high pain tolerance so take this with a grain of salt. OB said she rarely sees women opt out of epidurals 🤷🏻‍♀️. I was adamant about my approach though so I went in mentally prepared. You can always change your mind.

I opted for an epidural right at the end each time but somehow I dilated from 2 to 10 right after getting the epidural and was pushing the baby out before it really kicked in. I tried all three times to get through the pain but I wouldn’t dilate for nothing until the epidural - go figure !

I had it twice and had different experiences. First time, I assume they gave me less or something- I could feel contractions and it hurt during pushing, but wasn’t terrible. The second time, I basically felt nothing. No pain at all, couldn’t tell when contractions were, legs felt numb. I wonder if you could ask for a lighter dosage?

I have had two births. One long labor with epidural very painless just pressure. The second one I went into labor too quickly and only got a one sided epidural. It was excruciating probably the worst of both worlds because I couldn’t move, but I felt it all on one side. If I were to have a third, I would probably do natural in water and just do some localized pain meds for the ring of fire. It’s interesting how intuitive labor is with pushing if you are in touch with your body. Your body really wants to push through contractions. That said, I have never done unmedicated completely. I would talk to a doula.

Another thought is to get an epidural early if they would let you because contractions are painful, but there’s not much you can do about them until it’s time to push so maybe why being in pain if it’s not doing anything for you. But if you can be in touch with your body and help move the baby along with those pain signals and there might be something there.

Thank you everyone for responding. I know it's a game time decision, but at game time it's too late to gather info. My friend delivered over 15 years ago, so it's also posdible epi's have changed. But it makes sense that as time wears on the block starts effecting everything below the injection. Ie your ability to use your legs. I asked my mom her experience. She said no one told her the impact it would have on moving. For her, it didn't make it pain-free either. She doesn't want to sway me, but said don't treat it as a given. She only had me, so only had one reference point, but said she probably would have chosen differently ( or waited) if she had to do it over. So, I thought I would canvas for some experiences.