Anti-Epidural Comebacks

[Katey]

My dd was a vaginal breech (surprise!) delivery with no epidural. I have NO intention of having an epidural for this delivery either. (Although there are limited situaitons where I could see the usefulness for myself.)

Already I've encountered the, "You aren't going to go without drugs THIS time, are you?" questions. So, I'd like your best comebacks...good, bad, and ugly. :)

[mikesdarlin]

Man, my mil said almost the same thing. When I was in labor with ds, she came into the labor room, and immediatley started trying to talk me into drugs. When I told her about this baby, she said, "Please tell me you are going to take something this time!" I told her if my labors are so painful for her, SHE can get the epi! You have my sympathy!

Kara

[Goldy]

Who wants to give birth to a drugged baby if it's not necessary?? They are so much more alert when birthed drug-free.

By the way, great to hear of a vaginal breech birth! When I was pregnant, I watched a video that I think was called, "Normalizing the breech delivery". Wish I had a copy. It was actually an instructional video for midwives as I recall. Oh, if only these ideas were still being taught!!

Why is it that other people are so concerned about OUR pain, anyway????

[hedra]

"Why is this so important to you?"

"How does my choice make you uncomfortable?"

"Who told you that it shouldn't be done without drugs, and why did you believe them?" (My mom's comeback)

"Does my choice to avoid drugs somehow make you feel inferior?"

I tend to go with the return question, because then they have to think... eek!

Or, another fave from my mom:

"please give my choices the same respect I give yours."

[djk42]

When I was expecting Abigail and mentioned at our playgroup (Beth's) that we were using a birth center, they asked about epidural. "But you can't have an epiduarl with a midwife, can you?" I replied, "Why would anyone want one?" They were in shock that I had two children drug free! *LOL*

[ubertulip]

It might dull my pleasure!

Orgasmic Childbirth (http://freebirth.com/orgasmic.htm)

Seems like a pretty rare perception of childbirth, but hey, who knows? ;)

[hunter]

I believe that childbirth *can* be pleasurable, and I want all my senses available for it!

And I usually reserve my drug use for a time when the health & safety of my children isn't at risk. :D

[Ursula]

how about, "I'm on drugs right now, so why not have more during the surgery?!"

That's for shock value. I mean, people don't think you should be on drugs during the pregnancy, but they're all for drugging mom and baby during delivery.



<font color="#FF850B">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</font>
Ursula
Me: 35, Dh: 34 (1989)
<font color="#FF850B"><font size=2pt> Dd: May 2001</font></font>
19 Months
<font color="#FF850B">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</font>

[Lisa Jo]

What Ursula said! I took a refresher childbirth class for my second birth and the presenter said something that really stuck in my mind. It was something like "You've been careful to avoid drugs for the last 9 months to protect your baby. Think of your labor and delivery as just one more drug-free day for your baby's health."

[SelinaB]

Wow. That Orgasmic Childbirth link was wonderful!

I have to say that it felt really good for me when I was pushing to bring DD into the world- it was the act of NOT pushing that hurt. Of course, minutes before, I was begging for my epidural...but DD and my body were ready too quickly (thank goodness!). And yes, I was loud (even though the nurses told me that screaming and moaning used up energy...trying to birth quietly is NOT in my style...and I can't imagine doing it without open declarations of angst and pain and joy). And I felt GLORIOUS immediately after birthing DD!

I warned everyone ahead of time that I didn't want any mention of pain medication from them...I was going to be the one to bring it up IF I wanted it.

[Benny's Mom]

I'm just honest. I said, "I wanted to feel every aspect of my labor. I trust my body to tell me if everything is going well and if something is wrong. And, I trust I can handle the pain."

And, in retrospect, it's all true!

[midwifetx]

Well, I've had four babies without drugs.

The first was 72hours
2nd was 28hours
3rd was 9 hours
4th was 3hours

None of it was orgasmic in any way, but it was only a few days of my life, total.

My comeback is always "Man, you have to be brave to get an epidural, I'm a chicken. That needle is the size of Nebraska! Besides, did you know that 1:3 women who get epidurals have chronic issues from it...you know, for life? No thank you, I'll take labor any day over the risks!"

[Mommy2Logan]

I don't really have a good comeback for this - I'm all for getting the epidural myself, but I would never presume to tell someone else to do the same.