You're in labour: drugs or no drugs. Why?
If I were to go into spontaneous labour right this second, I would actually try to go without drugs.
With my daughter, being 17 and all, I was totally opting for drugs as soon as I could get them. I ended up having to have a C-Section so it turned out to be a non-issue anyway.
After that I had decided any future kids would be born via C-Section. I didn't want to go through labour or experience it at all. Truth be told, it scared the shit out of me.
Toward the end of my son's pregnancy I changed my mind. I thought that if millions of women before me could do it, then so could I. I wanted a natural labour as far as I could get one.
Unfortunately I started developing signs of pre-eclampsia* at 35 weeks so I opted to have another C-Section. I'm really sad I missed out on the natural birth experience, but I have two healthy, super awesome kids, so I don't have much to complain about.
*Wiki's definition of pre-e: Pre-eclampsia or preeclampsia is a medical condition characterized by high blood pressure and significant amounts of protein in the urine of a pregnant woman. If left untreated, it can develop into eclampsia, the life-threatening occurrence of seizures during pregnancy.
There are many different causes for the condition. It appears likely that there are substances from the placenta that can cause endothelial dysfunction in the maternal blood vessels of susceptible women.[1] While blood pressure elevation is the most visible sign of the disease, it involves generalised damage to the maternal endothelium, kidneys, and liver, with the release of vasoconstrictive factors being a consequence of the original damage.
An outdated medical term for pre-eclampsia is toxemia of pregnancy, since it was thought that the condition was caused by toxins[2].
Pre-eclampsia may develop from 20 weeks' gestation (it is considered early onset before 32 weeks, which is associated with an increased morbidity). Its progress differs among patients; most cases are diagnosed before labor typically would begin. Pre-eclampsia may also occur up to six weeks after delivery. Apart from Caesarean section and induction of labor (and therefore delivery of the placenta), there is no known cure. It is the most common of the dangerous pregnancy complications; it may affect both the mother and fetus.[1]