Hospital Delivery Without an Epidural: Natural labor your way.

Having a hospital delivery without an epidural is likely going to take some planning.  However, with some tips it’s totally do-able.

Having a natural baby delivery is the goal of many women who come in to have a baby.  They don’t want to have a home delivery, but they want as close to a natural baby delivery as they can possibly have in the hospital setting.

First off, hello! I’m Hilary — many people know me as The Pregnancy Nurse 👩‍⚕️. I have been a nurse since 1997 and I have 20 years of OB nursing experience, I am also the curly head behind this website Pulling Curls and The Online Prenatal Class for Couples. 🩺​ I’ve helped hundreds of moms have a natural delivery, and I think I have some tips that can REALLY help you.

Grab my hospital packing list while you’re here:

I love natural births.  True story:  I wanted to go without an epidural.  At the time that I had babies of my own, I had a fair number of patients who didn’t have epidurals.  I kind of always wondered what it felt like and I really wanted to try it. But, with each children, my labors got longer and by the end I had the triple threat that is almost impossible to natural labor through.  Here are my tips for a natural baby delivery {or laboring without an epidural}

This post is part of my series on labor pain management — and in case you’re considering it I have some of the most comprehensive patient-centric epidural info as well!

I also have a podcast on avoiding an epidural:

And another one by Crystal who had a LONG induction without an epidural

As with all of my articles, this is informational only, and choices should only be made with your own provider who knows you and your specific circumstances.

Natural Hospital Delivery

In my 20 years of delivering babies, I have VERY rarely seen someone go natural who didn’t put some preparation in. I highly recommend a prenatal class so you know what to expect. This one guarantees to get you & your partner ready (from your couch whenever you can fit it in). The reviews are fantastic!

Natural Childbirth Definition

I think all women have their own definition of what it is.  It might be a home delivery, a vaginal delivery, a delivery with very little medical intervention, or delivery without an epidural.

For this post, I’m talking about a delivery without an epidural.  Although — in general, that type of delivery has the least amount of intervention, in general as well.

Why would someone want this? Epidurals hurt (especially if you have issues with needles), the process can be painful (and does have risks) and epidurals don’t take away all of your labor pain.

How to Give Birth Naturally Without Pain

I just saw this one gets googled a lot.  And let me be the first to tell you that all labors include some pain.

I once had a patient who actually had labor fairly pain-free (it was actually really spooky) but then the after-birth pains came and she started screaming her head off.  Something weird with her pain receptors… but I am just saying that labor involves pain.  Most likely, the most pain you have ever experienced.

There are certain courses like Hypnobabies that can allow you to labor in an almost trance-like state where you don’t notice the pain as much.

What Does Childbirth Feel Like Without an Epidural

Contractions are very similar to both stomach cramps and uterine cramps.  It’s just a muscle squeezing — same as both of those.  The contractions get more and more intense, closer together, and stronger as it progresses.

The only thing that makes it better is having the baby.  Until then labor just gets harder and more painful until delivery {honesty moment}.

Natural Birth At Home

I do not recommend home deliveries.

This article will talk about delivery in the hospital.  I have been an L&D nurse since 2001 — which is why I feel like I can speak with some expertise in this area.  My first hospital had a VERY low epidural rate, and I was able to see how those women coped with the pain.

Tips for having an unmedicated (natural) hospital delivery

1. Don’t get induced.

I think it’s amusing when people walk in at 39 weeks saying they’re just “so miserable” and want to have the baby NOW, but they are planning to go natural.

An induction hurts your natural labor chances in several ways.

• You are hooked up to monitors from hour #1.  That means no wandering your house, watching your favorite TV show, showering, napping, peeing.  All of that is done with me in the uncomfortable confines of the hospital, most often without food.  Boo.
• You’re stuck, so you feel EVERY contraction, instead of being able to go to The Cheesecake Factory and get a cheesecake dural (which I did when I was in early labor with my first).  No distraction, unless poor TV choices are your idea of a distraction. We bring contractions on hard, there’s no gradual release into the abyss that is labor.  It’s LABOR.  Get ‘er done.  There are many doctors watching to make sure we nurses up your Pitocin so they can have a baby before they want to go to bed.  It’s just how it is.
• There are some “easier” ways to ease you into labor like Cytotec or Cervidil, and then sometimes you kick into labor on your own.  Or, you can decide to go home and let nature take its course if that isn’t working for you.

2. Labor as long as you can at home

The longer you’re in the hospital, the longer you have to stay on our monitors, not eat, and not have the comforts & distractions of home.

Sure, go in and get checked, but anymore we don’t believe that active labor starts til’ you’re about 6 centimeters.  Feel free to ask to go home until you’re a little further along.

We’d cheer for you.  We know being stuck at the hospital is hard.  No reason not to labor (as long as everything is going fine) as long as you can at home.

Labor may be different than you imagine — be sure to check out my signs of labor post.

3.  Do something about it ahead of time.

Be it Bradley or Lamaze you need some ways to cope with the pain.  Most labor classes don’t have a “type” anymore — but they should be teaching you.  Our hospital classes (and I really feel like that goes for MOST hospital classes) really aren’t enough to help you cope with full labor, you’d need more breathing.  The key to labor is staying relaxed as your uterus tenses up.  It’s fun.

They are great, however, if you’re planning on just coping until you are able to get an epidural.

I teach an online prenatal class, and, it has a bonus video on natural pain management that is super helpful.

However, if your heart is 100% set on not getting an epidural, I do recommend a course that is entirely on pain management.

The one I recommend is Hypnobabies.  I have seen SO many moms successfully use it.  I have heard they have used it later in life as well — that it is just a good one for coping mechanisms.

If you purchase one of the Hypnobabies home courses through my link — I do offer my online class at 50% off

Here’s how it works:

1. Purchase Hypnobabies here (to qualify — purchase either of the classic online Hypnobabies courses) — you can even save 15% with code hypno1528
2. Fill out this form (it’s going to ask for your name, email,  date & time of your purchase so I can match sales)
3. I will email you with a 50% off code (most often within 24 hours)

You can find my Online Childbirth Class here: https://www.pullingcurls.com/online-prenatal-class-couples (but, if you’re planning to do this deal, do not purchase it until I send the code — I will not refund purchases made before I send the coupon).

**Again, you must purchase Hypnobabies through that link above in order to qualify for the reduced price on my course — directly after your purchase, fill out this form and I’ll send you the coupon.**

4.  Hire a doula.

I know, you read my doula post and it kind of sounded like I’m anti-doula.  You and your partner need to be a great team to make it through labor naturally, and a lot of partners tire quickly of you screaming in their face.

They just don’t know what to do or where to turn.  I had a patient with a SUPER supportive partner the other day, but having a doula really helped both of them come up with ideas.  We also come up with ideas to help you cope, but we can’t be with you all the time.  Hence, a doula.  They’re cheaper than an anesthesiologist, although not usually covered by your insurance. 🙂

5.  Be upfront with your nurse about what you want.

We get a lot of people who SAY they want to go natural but are totally not married to the idea and cave quickly.  If it is something you REALLY want, just tell your nurse.

Be upfront that this is something you’d really like. Tell them you’d prefer they don’t ask you about your pain every hour (a hospital requirement, although I will just chart that patient would like to go naturally and would prefer not to be asked about her pain).  Tell them you’d like to not be offered an epidural or even talk about it.

I have a talk with all my natural patients that an epidural is ALWAYS an option, but I won’t bring it up if they would prefer that I don’t.  I am ALWAYS on my patient’s side.  I will fight for you, but I have to know what you really want. 🙂

6.  Be open.

And I’m not just talkin’ about your cervix here. 🙂

If you’ve decided you won’t get an epidural, just prepare for God to test you. To open up the gates of a “sunny side up” presentation, or getting stuck at 9 centimeters.  You need to be aware that it is going to be VERY painful, and if it is putting you over the edge, you need to do something about it.  If you are stressed to the max, you send out stressors to your baby.  When they come out, they’re stressed out too, and they don’t want to breathe.  No Bueno.

Again, I love natural labor.  I just think you need to be prepared and educated to go into it.  TONS of women do it, it just requires extra effort, and some luck. 🙂

**To be fair, all 3 of my kids were born with epidurals and I don’t think one person loves their child more than another.  I do think some like to run marathons, and some appreciate a nice nature walk.  Just depends on what you want, and can tolerate. 🙂

And now is the time to get your class in! This class won’t push you one way or another, just give you tons of information to get the birth that’s meant for you. It can be done in just a few hours and has 3 price points from a super qualified nurse. I love what Casey said:

“I feel like I got my monies worth with Hilary’s online class. She gets to the point and comes across as real but also communicating well. I watched these with my husband and we both gained a lot of insight. I recommend her program.”

Or, if you’re not quite ready for the full class, check out my free prenatal class — It’s your first step towards being your own birth boss.

FYI, this post was written in Sept 2015 and was updated in Jan 2018.