I'd like to comment on some of the reply's to my
husband's thoughts on epidurals (which he doesn't do anymore because
of all the reasons everyone has mentioned.) Intrathecals allow the
patient to feel everything without pain.

Recently an aquaintance of mine and patient of my husband,
 had her second baby.  She was a single, teenage mom who did request
an intrathecal with the birth of her first son which she went on the
breastfeed for 18 months with no problems.  She did have female
support person all during her second labor along with her new husband, &
nurses. She chose to forgo the intrathecal that she had with her
first baby.  After the delivery she said she would never do that
again or recommend "natural childbirth" to anyone!
She had no problems associated with "epidurals"  with her first
intrathecal.

Another birth, this one my five year old daughter got to experience.
Becky loves to go with dad to hospital and has been dying to SEE a
baby born for months.  She will sit up to all hours of the night.  My
husband would introduce her after the fact and she would complain
about missing the event.  Finally he had permission from a patient
with  an intrathecal to allow our daughter to watch the baby actually
being born.  Becky remembers a happy woman smiling and laughing
during labor who had a beautiful baby girl.  "The mommy held the baby
and smiled at the baby"  I'm kinda glad Becky didn't experience one of
my rock, roll, and moan labors...altho' my 4 sons did.

My husband lets women, and encourages them, to not come in to the
hospital right away, be up and about during labor, labor in any
position, birth in any position, have anyone they choose to be with
them while laboring, and  does no "preps".

Altho it is my belief that pain in labor is not "bad" and everyone
has been doing this for thousands of years my husband feels that just
because some women have gone thru painful labors we should not force
this on other women as a rite of passage if they wish to be
comfortable. ( Personally, I also would wonder why anyone would go to
a hospital to have a baby.... but they do. I had a midwife & GP for
my 5 homebirths.)

I'm digressing, could this be compared to intern-resident / doctor
training?  Most attendings treat interns-residents as the scum of the
earth because they were treated as such.  They must experience the
sleep deprivation (140 hour work week) and everything else because it
is not harmful and pain inflicts patience and loyalty to the
profession??? Are we as women expecting other women to experience
pain in childbirth because we had to? Do I believe this? I don't
know. Do I want my daughter to have a great birth experience as I
did, and could she have it without pain?
Ugh..Oh...
I am not saying women treat women "as scum of the earth" by allowing
them to labor..
Are physicians to alleviate pain and suffering? Should my husband go
back to not relieving pain?
P.S. we are moving from Maine (where 90% of population thinks you
should get down on all fours if you want to breastfeed....except in
a few isolated areas) and going to PA to work with a group of
midwives.  I am praying that women there want to breastfeed.  There
are women here that will drive almost 2 hours to another hospital
because my husband "PUSHES" breastfeeding.. Go figure.
Karen Graham LLL, IBCLC, wife of  Steve who does the intrathecals