Every person has a different experience. I thought my water broke at 12:30 a.m., so I called and they said come to the hospital to get checked out; by the time we got there an hour later, my contractions were less than two minutes apart and I was 4 cm dilated and in a lot of pain. I had planned to have an epidural and asked for it as soon as I got there at 1:40, but they couldn't give it to me right away, so I didn't get it until almost 3 a.m., at which point I was 7 cm along. The epidural was great, as I was able to relax, talk with my husband and parents, and not feel the contractions, which had been almost unbearable and caused me to throw up before I got the epi. At 7:30 a.m., I was at 10 cm and began pushing, my daughter was born at 8:48 a.m., ALERT, healthy, and crying loudly! She scored a 9.9 on her Apgar too. So people can say what they want about epidurals slowing labor down or causing you to have to have a c-section, or making the baby drowsy, but I think that's bull. That may happen to some people, but certainly not all. Mine sped handily along! If you want a natural childbirth, by all means, knock yourself out! But if you want an epidural, there's nothing wrong with that either, and I wish proponents of natural childbirth wouldn't be so strident in voicing their opinions against medical intervention. The epi helped me relax, laugh, and enjoy my final moments of pregnancy, rather than continuing to be in pain, throw up, and not be able to savor my final moments with my daughter inside me. And I felt completely empowered--I felt every push I made and did it all on my own...the epi just helped me not feel the pain of the push. It was lovely.