I was terrified of having an epidural as I was freaked out about them hitting my spine and it not working and I HATE needles.

Anyway - had to have an emergency, non-laboring section and so had no chioice. It went in first time, no pain getting it in and it worked instantly so I was able to have the section quickly.

Honestly I was obsessed with how I didnt want an epidural as I was so scared of it! Ended up being the least of our worries!

I would be surprised if any hospital would expect you to make that decision before you actually needed the epi though. Are you sure this is right for you hospital? I would check it out because I would be sure that you wont need to make the decision until you are in labor. Good to gather information about it before hand though so you know what you are saying yes/no to.

Good luck!