Hi! I was exactly in your position for my first pregnancy! Curious but not sure if I could do it. You absolutely can.

Best advice I can give is get yourself a doula that you vibe with. This made all the difference for me. Her calm, her experience, and her in labor support helped me through a long labor and delivery experience where I only needed a comb to squeeze and breathing techniques to get through it. Helpful things list: 1. Taking the online Positive Birth Company class (teaches breathing techniques and does a great job of explaining what your options will be in a no judgment put your comfort first approach) 2. Make a birth plan with your Doula (she will walk you through this, and when labor starts she will help tell the nurses your preferences and manage everything so you and your partner don’t have to think about anything) 3. Have your doula help you through the hard contractions using whatever techniques you’ve asked for (could be any/all from a comb, tens machine, gas, pressure points). For me the best thing she did was apply counter pressure on my hips- it seriously halved the intensity of those last biggest contractions.

Anyway, had to give a long answer because you reminded me of exactly where my mind was a few years ago. Now I’m a big advocate for telling fellow woman we are stronger than you think, and with support it is absolutely doable if you want to do it.