Giving birth without an epidural isn’t something that only Wonder Woman or some “hippie” who gives birth at home would do.  (Hi, that’s me you’re probably talking about.)

If you want to give birth without an epidural you’re going to have to come up with A Plan.

I don’t mean a birth plan, where you write down your wishes for your birth on a long pice of paper and hand it to the medical staff when you walk in. “I don’t want anyone to ask me if I want an epidural.” Okay, great, good start. But what happens when they don’t bring it up but you start to need something for the pain and aren’t sure how to cope? Then what?

Managing labor pain and giving birth without an epidural requires a lot of work, determination, confidence, planning and a sprinkling of luck.

If you want to have an unmedicated delivery (AKA give birth without an epidural), the first thing to ask yourself is:

Do I have the right team in place to support me? Am I giving birth in a setting that supports natural birth? If your hospital is known for managing high risk births and typically handles complicated cases, it probably isn’t going to be the best place in Montreal to have a natural birth. (Or in any city, really!) Of course there are exceptions to that rule, but it is usually a great Dr or nurse who happens to be on-call that day that makes the difference.

Choose your birth setting wisely. In my experience, choosing the lowest risk hospital or birthing centre as possible for your pregnancy is the best way to have a more hands-off experience.

A hands-off birth experience means that you will be more in charge of how things unfold. It doesn’t mean nobody will intervene if necessary, because we want medical staff to do their job when we need them. It simply means they will observe more than they manage.

Next, hire a doula. There are a ton of reasons you should hire a doula! Research shows we help reduce interventions, and increase the chance you’ll have a birth experience you look back on with pride and happiness. We help you go through your options, reassure and encourage you, support your partner so they can say and do all the right things, and give you peace of mind that someone always has your best interests in mind.

The most important step is to DO THE WORK.

Nobody else can have this baby for you. No amount of back rubbing, or encouragement, or support will take care of the job you have to do. Line up all your resources, prepare a ton of options for pain coping, and then get your head in the game. It will take just as much mental preparation and coping techniques as it will physical. Your mind is much more likely to tell you it can’t keep going than your body. Remember: you ARE the labor, the labor is YOU.

Want more tips? We got ’em. Work with us to create a great birth plan, prepare your partner, get on-call birth support, educate yourself. We can help you achieve your goals for giving birth without an epidural.