Before we were even pregnant I knew I wanted to aim for a non-medicated birth. I could write a whole blog post about this topic, but for the sake of keeping this brief(ish), my main reasons were:
1) I wanted the benefits of being able to walk and move around during labor and to birth in whatever position I wanted (ie. not on my back).
2) I wanted to be able to listen to my body's natural pushing cues/rhythm to avoid tearing more than necessary
3) Epidurals can slow down labor, sometimes leading to a cascade of interventions that might have otherwise been avoided (ex. pitocin, vacuum extraction, c-section, etc.).
4) When I weighed the benefit of an epidural (less pain) with the potential risks (drop in blood pressure, severe headache, loss of bladder control, itchy skin, back pain, increased risk of cesarean, etc), I felt that the benefit just wasn't that great.
