6 Reasons Why I Got an Epidural

*****I am not a doctor or medical professional, these are just my opinions. Speak to your doctor about an epidural if you have questions.*****

In the last few years, I have noticed a lot of women striving for a more natural approach to birth. Whether that means no epidural, having a baby at home or birthing center, etc. Whatever one decides to do when giving birth is completely up to them and their doctor or midwife, but I wanted to share why I decided an epidural and hospital birth was right for me.

6 Reasons Why I Got an Epidural

1. Pain Relief. This is the top of my list. I do okay with pain, but I’ve not had to deal with many painful things in my life. I’ve heard about women giving birth when an epidural wasn’t an option and it was rough. I feel for those ladies who didn’t have a choice, but for me I wanted to be able to enjoy the birth of my baby with the least amount of pain possible. 

2. It’s Relaxing. I am a worry wart to the max. Just ask my husband. I can worry about every little thing and wind myself up to the point of not sleeping or focusing. By having an epidural, I was able to relax and let things flow. I’m not sure how well I would have managed this without the epidural. Plus, it helps your man relax too. My husband says, “Sure, birth is hard on the woman, but it is hard on the husband because he has to watch his wife suffer through all the pain.” So it can also help that hubby relax too.

3. The odds are in your favor. There are complications that can happen from an epidural or it might not work completely. There was one spot in my back that didn’t go completely numb, but before I had the epidural I was about to lose it. Just remember the odds are in your favor that nothing will go wrong. 

4. You can sort of control your level of feeling. If you want to be able to feel when you are pushing don’t dose up again and again. Depending on how long you are in labor, you might need to re-dose. I did and it sort of slowed things down, so when I wanted to the third time I didn’t. This allowed me to still feel while pushing, but I didn’t have to put myself through all the pain of the contractions and most of the birth.

5. You aren’t less of a woman if you have one. I think it is strange that some women feel like having a child without any pain meds makes them more of a woman. I am grateful for modern medicine. We have come so far and I believe it is important to use the advances we have made. Technology and medicine have come so far, why not take advantage of the medical advances we have made just like we do with our phones and computers.

6. The baby is monitored. I love knowing how my baby is doing. I enjoyed going to do non-stress tests and ultrasounds because then I knew my baby was doing well. When on an epidural the baby is normally monitored, like it would be on a non-stress test. I want to know how my baby’s heart rate is doing through the labor and delivery.

Did you get an epidural? How was your experience with or without pain medication while giving birth?