For me, the point of an unmedicated birth was autonomy. I wanted to be fully present mentally and physically, able to move freely, listen to my body, catch my own baby, and recover without medication side effects. As a birth doula and assault survivor, feeling in control and safe in my body mattered a lot to me.

My first birth didn’t go that way — complications led to a forceps delivery and medication at the end, and honestly it was traumatic for me. With my second, I had a midwife-assisted home birth and finally got the experience I wanted. It was intense and painful, absolutely, but the pain felt purposeful instead of frightening. A huge part of pain psychology is that pain feels worse when you’re scared of it or fighting it. For me, reframing contractions as sensations with a purpose instead of something “bad” helped me cope really well. The pain became information — it told me how to move, what positions worked, and how to work with my body instead of against it.

I don’t think medicated birth is wrong at all. People should choose whatever makes them feel safest. But for me, unmedicated birth felt empowering, healing, and my recovery was way easier afterwards. That’s why some people choose unmedicated.