EDMONTON - We asked four women about to become first-time moms and taking prenatal classes at the Northeast Community Health Centre if they planned to have a drug-free delivery or have an epidural. And then, after they’d had their babies, we checked back to see what actually happened. Here’s what they said.

Christina Fok, 36

Daughter Chloe Yu born March 22

Fok wasn’t planning on having an epidural because she expected she’d have to have a caesarean section like her mom and two aunts — “Asians usually have a very narrow birth canal” — so she was happy she only needed an epidural to deliver her baby.

“As soon as I arrived at the hospital I told the nurse I had to have an epidural right away because right after my water broke, the contractions were so bad. I couldn’t stand the pain,” Fok says laughing.

After an hour of pushing, only half of the baby’s head had emerged and labour had stopped. The doctor had to use forceps to pull baby Chloe out.

“When they started to pull, I would rate the pain as being 10-plus even with the epidural,” Fok says. “I can’t imagine what it would have been like without the epidural, I probably would have passed out from the pain.

“I don’t have a high pain tolerance which is why I told the nurse right away that I wanted an epidural. I have no guilt about that.”

Her advice to expectant moms wrestling with the same question: Every woman experiences pregnancy differently. It really depends on your tolerance of pain if you’ll need an epidural or not, but if you can’t handle pain, an epidural really helps, Fok says.

Christy Bear, 34

Son Kane born March 14

Bear wanted a natural birth and no epidural except as a last resort, but a pain-induced anxiety attack scuttled her plans.

“The contractions started to hurt more and more and I started actually panicking and I opted, I asked, ‘Where’s the epidural? Can I have one?’

“I have a lot of tattoos, I’ve been poked with a needle thousands of times, so I thought I would be able to manage the pain better, but getting a tattoo is nothing compared to (the pain of) childbirth,” Bear says.

“The breathing I learned in prenatal class to control the pain went right out the window. I couldn’t even remember sitting in the prenatal class,” she says.

Nurses told her that having an epidural is OK. “It’s normal.”

When she has a second child, Bear says she will ask for an epidural again.

Read as much as you can about childbirth and about the pros and cons of having an epidural or drugs for pain, she advises expectant moms. “Practice your breathing and know that the option (of pain relief) is there for you. Keep your options open and have an open mind because childbirth is different for everyone, and so is the effect of having an epidural.

“It’s fine to have a plan going in, but do what you feel you need to do.”

Karuna Naidoo, 31

Son Keiran Grosvenor born April 12

Naidoo was open to having an epidural because she didn’t think she would be able to handle the pain.

She was induced because of her gestational diabetes, and she did ask for an epidural, but it only partially blocked her pain, and had mostly worn off by the time she delivered her son, so Naidoo figures she had close to a natural birth.

“A lot of people I know are trying to have a natural birth,” Naidoo says. “Everybody just wants to be natural now, like everyone wants to use cloth diapers.”

She wouldn’t say anything against people who plan not to have an epidural, “but I have the choice of not suffering through childbirth,” she says. “It’s like people used to wash dishes by hand, but if you can have a dishwasher, why not use it if it’s going to make your life easier?”

Naidoo’s labour pain wasn’t that bad, but it was continual, not even a minute apart. “I just couldn’t handle it.” she says.

Her advice to expectant moms: “It’s fine to have a plan, but I think when you go in, you should do whatever it is that you feel you need to and you shouldn’t beat yourself up about it because you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do to get through it.”

Ma.Fe Jackson, 31

Daughter Angelique born Feb. 24

Jackson didn’t want an epidural and didn’t have one.

She’s Pilipino, and most Philipinos don’t have epidurals in childbirth except as a last recourse, she says. “It’s a cultural thing. Childbirth is very, very painful, but that’s normal.”

Jackson also has a phobia about needles and gets queasy at the sight of blood, which is another reason why she didn’t want an epidural. She told medical staff at the hospital about wanting a natural birth, and they didn’t push an epidural on her. But a shift change eventually brought a new nurse to her bedside who started urging Jackson to have an epidural when her pain becomes so intense she could barely speak.

“I’m saying, ‘no,’ and she’s still pushing it,” remembers Jackson. “She didn’t seem to care what I wanted, she wanted to do it her way. She seemed to be in a rush, maybe because she needed the room?”

The nurse was pushing Jackson’s husband Steve to sign the epidural consent form and preparing to call in the anesthetist, when the baby was suddenly ready to be born, so Jackson was able to deliver her daughter without an epidural.

“I did everything without drugs except antibiotics and an inducer that they added to make the contractions stronger. It seemed like they wanted to move the labour along, like they were in a rush. It wasn’t because I wanted it,” Jackson says.

“I’m a grateful person and I’m grateful for everything, so even if (childbirth) is painful, I will take the pain and I will not complain because it’s only for a short time.”

Pain is part of the process of becoming a mother, Jackson says. “It prepares you for taking care of the baby and more painful things you’re going to have to face.

“Most women want natural birth but not all of them can make it and I appreciate that.”

If you want to have a natural birth, and there’s no danger to you or your baby, insist on it, Jackson advises.

czdeb@edmontonjournal.com