LOL what's disrespectful about sharing my reaction to the book and my experience?
"Propaganda," "lies and deceit," "closed club," "irrationally demonised," sarcasm, using all-caps (and then responding sarcastically when you are informed that's read as shouting on the interwebz).... You're just being rude, and people have actually been quite restrained in their responses.

The shame is that this is actually an interesting topic for discussion if you'd put down your cudgels for one moment. Can you not see that you aren't simply discussing your experience, you are putting down the reasoning and the intelligence of women who have come to different conclusions?

I don't think anyone here has actually said that epidurals aren't a valid choice for many women for a variety of reasons. I think you'll find many members here at BB have opted for them - and I doubt a single one of them has been flamed for their efforts.

Every single medical procedure, from epidurals to lancing a boil, has risks, and these must be weighed against the benefits. For some, the risks are far outweighed by the benefits. For others, less so, and women decide that for them, it's not a rational choice. Why this is a cause of such distress for you is a little perplexing.