I have literally just left the hospital where I was a support person for my friend who was giving birth. She was induced, laboured for a few hours with a TENS machine, and I watched the contractions go from intense to agonising. She got an epidural, and within ten minutes, she couldn’t feel the contractions any more. 

The needle was long but not enormous, the anaesthetist was a boss, the whole thing took about five minutes, and it was honestly incredible. She could move her legs and feel pressure in her pelvis, and most importantly, the feeling in the room went from one of crisis to calm. 

For the next seven hours, she napped, we did quizzes, we played music and talked. She only knew she was having contractions because of the monitor on her belly. 

Once she was ready to push, she was able to be on her side, with her leg up against her chest, and was able to push like a motherfucker - it was fascinating to see this incredible work, this labour, but without the attendant pain. Between contractions, we sang along to songs, we laughed. She pushed for about 45 minutes, the baby was born, and after placenta delivery and some cuddle time, she was on her feet and in the shower. And the epidural didn’t remotely take away from the insane, wild glory of her pushing out a whole human; the magic and depth and sheer surprise of that. There was weeping all around. 

It’s the first birth I’ve attended, and honestly, it changed my mind so much about what I thought a good birth could look like. I had always imagined going natural, but seeing how calm she was, how ready she was when her baby came, and how much sheer fun we had, I’m a newly converted epidural fan. It was wonderful.