Epidurals?

[Tenebrae]

Telling a woman that she should not have any pain relief during labor because God told Eve that she would bring forth babies in pain and suffering is like telling a man he should not have an office job, but work in the fields or dig ditches instead, because God told Adam that he would eat his bread by the sweat of his brow.

 

[RWMorris]

There is nothing wrong with having an epidural. But my births without pain medication were more joyous than the ones WITH medication. There is an incredible high after giving birth naturally.
However, if the pain is severe, I am the first one to ask for medication…I am a real coward.

 

[KCT]

I forget which movie it’s in, but there’s a great line said after some doofus man asks “Does it hurt?” She replies:
YOU TRY PUSHING A WATERMELON THROUGH A HOLE THE SIZE OF A LEMON… AND GET BACK TO ME!!
.

I think it was John Travolta and Kirstie Alley in Look Who’s Talking. I think she said, “You try pushing something the size of a grapefruit out of something the size of a lemon!”

My dh also hated seeing me in pain. He couldn’t believe I fogot all about it the minute I held the little one. —KCT

 

[Em_in_FL]

First… for your question… no, epidurals are NOT against the teachings of the Catholic Church. Period.

I’ve had both a completely non-medicated birth and an epidural birth. In my personal experience I would never have a non-medicated birth again.
My labors happen to be long (48 and 36 hours for my 2 children)… and the stress of the non-medicated labor sent my body into hyperthryoid shock. This caused dramatic health effects over the next several months… including loosing all my pregnancy weight in under 2 weeks, and having the majority of the hair on my head fall out…

So no… epidurals are not wrong… and they serve to benefit many of us who don’t do well with non-medicated births…