Evaluation of Delivery Methods

So I have officially delivered a child in each of the 3 most common methods: Epidural, Unmedicated (except for a drug at the very end to help me relax before pushing), and C-section . Several people have asked which I prefer so here is my take for me.

Epidural
Pros: Less Pain. It never really worked as well as I had hoped. It basically took a lot of the edge off, but I was never completely pain free, especially at the end.

Cons: First I have scoliosis where they put the needle in and a resident did it and dug around before calling someone more experienced. Lets just say I felt every stitch. Also, when it came to pushing, it took 2 hours and I don't know that I knew the exact muscles to "push" with since I couldn't feel as well. Constant back pain for about 4 months.

Karissa

Unmedicated
Pros: You can walk around. My recovery was easier. I felt I knew exactly what to do because my body told me where and when to push. Andrew was out in 3 contractions (less than 10 minutes) and Alexis was about 15 minutes.

Cons: It hurts more than just about anything in the world, especially the last hour. Pushing is a relief if you can believe that.

Andrew

Alexis

C-section (this might be different if it was planned, but this is my experience with an emergency one)
Pros: No baby one minute and a baby the next. Less bleeding (yeah!). Afterwords, you can sit on any chair you want. You can use any bathroom you need to without having to take extra items to care for you. 6 weeks of no vacuuming and 2 weeks of not being aloud to do any housework (love this one)

Cons: The recovery is painful (not as bad as delivering unmedicated, but it lasts longer). You find new bruises almost everyday on your stomach. My diaphragm is bruised, I think from the nurse pushing Spencer off the cord (well worth it, but painful anyway). Neck pain -- who knew (apparantly this is due to nerve issues from the incision and will eventually go away, one night I was screaming it was so bad, I can be a baby when it comes to pain, but this hurt like no other.) Not sleeping well because of the pain. Really ugly scar. Serious gas pain (from them manipulating your intestines).

Spencer

The irony is, that as I was going into the C-section I was worried about the incision being painful and thus far, that has been the least painful. That said the other problems are slowly going away and the incision is making itself more known. I don't think it hurts more, I just think I am noticing it more since the other more painful issues are starting to resolve themselves. I realize this might sound whiny but this is my evaluation. I have determined that given a choice I choose to be unmedicated. It just worked better for me.

That said, I am willing to have a baby anyway, as long as they are healthy.