I’ll put that on the list, right between “I might want to hike the Appalachian trail” and “I might want to try soft-boiled eggs.”

I’m going to go ahead and give a glowing recommendation on the soft-boiled eggs. I love them. I’ve never had an epidural, though.
Seriously though, what is with all of these medical caregivers in completely unrelated fields trying to influence moms’ choices? It’s so irritating.

For an ultrasound? REALLY? (shocked and surpirsed)

Umm… no.

Least he’s not saying HAVE to?
Still, way to be encouraging…NOT.

This is mine. I just chuckled and said no thanks. He responded with a “really?” I said “really really”. He just shook his head like I was nuts. My son was 9 lbs and birthed without an epidural.

And an epidural has WHAT to do with my ultrasound?

Wow. Talk about not having to do with one another! What the HECK does a “everything is normal” ultrasound have to do with an epidural??? Even if he saw a big baby, there are MANY of us who have birthed 9 lb. (and more) babies with no epidural. In fact, having the epidural might not let a big baby get into the correct position. Doc, stick to what you know!

Oh! I didn’t realize it was Give Random and Unsolicited Advice Day. Well, you might want to try a different toupee. That one looks kind of ragged.

Your turn!

I’ve told this story before, but one of the things that compelled me to delve more deeply into natural childbirth was many years ago, when I thought I might be pregnant. I was just being paranoid, but I couldn’t sleep, so around 2 am I got up and went to a 24-hour grocery store to get a pregnancy test.

I got to the front of the line, the cashier scanned the test and the first thing she said was, “Get the epidural.”

Now, I know she had kids herself and was trying to be cute, and at the time I laughed it off (though I had always vaguely assumed I’d “go natural,” as my mom did).

But the point was, as a society, we’re not even supposed to wait and see what we might feel like before we’re supposed to make the decision that it’s going to be way too painful and intolerable for words. I mean– let alone learn other coping techniques or anything else. Even if we thought drugs were the only answer, if we just had the relative lack of fear and the mentality that even, say, 10% of women might have “tolerable” labors without drugs (but even without using any special techniques)… then I don’t think we’d have folks saying these sorts of things. At least then the mentality would be “well, probably, but you can make that decision when the time comes.” *sigh*

Wow. Did I even ask for your opinion on major anesthesia?

So I’m suppose to get an epidural for an ultrasound but when I had that horrific BE several years back, I didn’t even get a Xanax. ::shakes head::

I second the glowing recommendation for soft-boiled eggs! Bonus if you spread them on a chunky whole-grain roll with a bit of herbed salt… /drool

As for the epidural, no thanks. And why do people feel a need to say something? From the checkout girl to Oprah… Really? My favorite was from my aunt, who when she met my 2-month old first child, says, “I assume you were smart and got the epidural?” Uh… :-/ I just smiled and said pleasantly, “No, I was stupid and had her naturally. It was great!” I mean, how do you respond to that?

Can I ask something? Why is the epidural pushed so much for pain relief? What is wrong with a paracervical block? I had one with my first VBAC, and it seemed to function just the way people describe an epidural functioning; I felt pressure but no pain with the contractions and was able to sleep. Yet it was just some novocaine in the cervix, rather than something next to the spine, the idea of which gives me the creeps. I have heard that paracervicals sometimes caused a blood pressure drop, which affected the baby…but don’t epidurals sometimes do that also? I hear of so many people who have back problems after their epidurals. Also, the paracervical block had no motor effects; I could still walk, pee, etc. I sort of wish I had not had it, as it did affect my urge to push, but then, so does an epidural. The paracervical was done by the OB rather than by an anesthesiologist. Why were they abandoned? They seem to me like a much better solution if a woman gets to the point where she wants pain relief.( I didn’t but the doctor though I was holding up dilation by being too tense, and I really wanted my VBAC, so I went along with it, and it did seem to work. )

I would appreciate it if anyone knows anything about this, if they would clue me in.

What, are you getting a commission from the anesthesiology department?
::scratching head::