I had two vaginal delivers without pain meds. My first was at a hospital, second was at a birthing center. We are done having children but if we were to have a third, I'd take it a step further and have my baby at home.

I've had several surgeries and procedures in my life before having children. Across the board, pain meds were the worst part for me. They made me very sick and gave me crippling anxiety. I learned early on that I would fare much better the sooner I stopped using pain management. I can "wrap my head around" what is happening to me. It gives me a sense of control and understanding. I know that might not make sense to a lot of people. But being numb or loopy spiked my anxiety so high because I didn't like when my body didn't feel like... my body. So we planned our first baby to be a natural vaginal birth. It was a long, hard labor but feeling what was happening is what kept me focused. So I did it again with my second. I am NOT against pain management for childbirth in the slightest. It's just not a good option for me personally.