Hey Frankie

Labour without drugs is VERY possible. And I think Janie and Kelly are right in what they are saying about being well prepared.

So many women put a hell of a lot of pressure on themselves during their pregnancy though, when making choices about pain refief, which in result puts so much unecessary stress on them. Pain relief is there to help, and not to add to our worries. In the big picture, the fact that whether or not you have any medications during labour is not the issue.The issue is that YOU need to make a choice that YOU are completely comfortable with (Maybe that's to use mediactions or not to). Don't worry about what anybody else is doing. It's your labour and do what you want to do.

Of course labour hurts, it's just a real uncomfortable, intense pain. Very difficult to imagine. But I found that in between contractions (mine ranged from being every 5 mins to every 30 seconds apart) I got a tiny break so it wasn't just constant IYKWIM. I didn't have any pain relief, but that's just me. I don't believe I am any braver then any other woman, and of course it doesn't make me any better then anyone else. The fact is, that it was my choice and things just happened in a way so I could achieve what I wanted.

Also, what I think is really important is to NOT BE AFRAID of labour. Read about everything, different experiences etc. Let your body do what it needs to do. I'm sure that you will absolutely shock yourself when you realise what you are capable of doing.

All the best