When I was a kid, my mother told me about my birth and how getting a peridural for her labor left her with terrible back pain for years.

That was the first time I thought about birth and that was the first time I thought that if I had the choice, I would not get a peridural.

Of course, I have grown a lot since then and medicine has evolved tremendously in the last 30 years so I am aware that this risk is now significantly reduced. 

However, knowing that I didn’t want an epidural led me to do more research about the topic, and the more I learned about the way labor is treated in modern medicine, the less inclined I was to go through a medicalized labor.

Before I go further on this topic, I want to affirm that I am grateful for the possibility of pain management and that I am aware that I won’t control much during my labor and may need medication at some point. I do not condemn any women for wanting to have a medicalised labor and birth but this is not what I want, and this article is here to tell you why.

The first reason I don’t want medicalized labor is that I don’t want a medicalized pregnancy. I have grown up in a society that seems to see pregnancy and labor as a disease, as something to be treated like it’s wrong like it’s not supposed to happen. I see things differently. If you are healthy and have no special issues with your body, I think pregnancy is just a phase in a woman’s life. A beautiful, magical, somewhat uncomfortable phase that will lead to the most precious thing in her life. 

The second reason is the cascade of intervention. If you are not familiar with it but want to learn more, I recommend listening to this podcast by Ellen Fisher here.

I have heard so many stories of induced women who didn’t necessarily need it (which I can understand can happen of course) who ended up having such a long and painful labor that doctors inevitably provided them with a C-section in the end.
Every mother will tell you that what matters is that their baby is fine and that they would do it all over again if needed and I understand that fully. But, was it necessary? Most times, it just wasn’t.

The third and last reason why I want a non-medicalised birth is because I know my body is made for it and I want to know how it feels. I know it can sound a bit odd or masochistic to some people but the truth is I want to go through it, get out the other way, and know what I can endure in life. I feel like I have been getting ready for this my entire life and I want to go through it and get stronger thanks to it. Just like some people want to do a marathon or climb Mount Everest or do incredible things that are risky, painful, long,g and strenuous, I want to climb my own Mount Everest and prove to myself that I can go through this pain only women can know and come out the other end. 

Again, I have not given birth yet and can’t control what will happen on that day but I wanted to take the time to explain my reason. Maybe it can help you make your own decision. 

I would love to know about your choice and the reasons behind it!