I was surprised to learn that doctors in the UK try to put mothers off having caesarians and epidurals because they are expensive. Although we get free pain relief from the NHS I guess it still costs them plenty. It got me thinking that in other countries the pain relief would probably have to be paid for and I wondered what mothers opt for as the cheapest option. Could you give birth without any pain relief if it meant you saved money?
Actually I think that the doctors are doing the right thing by not giving epidurals for pain relief. It might feel like a cruel thing to do but in the long run, a normal painful delivery is better for the mothers than having a C-section. In India, in many cities, most private doctors unnecessarily conduct C-sections on mothers who could easily and harmlessly have given birth by normal delivery. I myself had to undergo C-section because my son's heartbeats were slowing down as he was scared due to the noise of extremely loud fireworks as it was the Diwali season then. I am still paying for it as the epidural given to me during the surgery eased the process but am suffering from back pain now, worse during winters and rains. Plus, it was too expensive and it took me more than usual number of days to get back on my feet.
Sorry about the backpains. Get well soon. I also agree with your point. There are many women in my country too who chose Cesarean for delivery when they can easily give birth in the normal way. I think this should be looked into. The birth operation should stop being treated as a lifestyle and seen as a solution for only emergency cases. It is indeed expensive but they can afford to give it for free to women who truly can't give birth naturally.
@nangk08. I'm sorry to hear of your back pain and hope it will get better with time. I also had a c-section with my first child because of a low lying placenta but I was surprised to hear that in India many private doctors unnecessarily carry out c-sections when a normal birth is possible. Having had a normal delivery with my second child I can definitely say it is much better despite the pain of labour.
I went through giving birth to my daughter naturally since I had no other choice. The hostpital I went to gave it to woman who come in first so I went through painful labor for 14 hours but was able to handle tha pain because my daughters well being was my motivation to keep resisting. Later on I realized that the epidural can actually be bad for the child according to my cousins experience so I'm glad I didn't get it.
@kamai With my second child I had high blood pressure and sometimes they give you an epidural to keep your blood pressure down. They decided they would give me one but I suddenly went from 2-10 cm dilation in a very short space of time and felt the urge to push so I didn't have it. I felt proud that I managed to do it without any painkiller
That is great and you should be proud and yes my cousin also had to get the epidural because of the high blood pressure but when her baby was born he was dead fortunately they doctors were able to revive him, they said he didn't resist the pain killer and that it's actually very common. If I have another baby I will have it without the painkiller if possible.
I didn't know getting the epidural will help to lower the blood pressure. My friend was advised to go for c-section as her blood pressure was too high. I remember a friend of mine told me she didn't opt for any pain relief as she went to hospital quite late for giving labor, and the doctor said any pain relief would not be able to take effect in such a short time as she was almost ready for deliver. Here, if the mothers are giving birth in government hospitals, the cost for labor is really less expensive even for c-section. When I was delivering my first child, I wanted to try not to take any pain killer, but at last I asked for the injection as I couldn't endure the pain anymore.
