With my last one, my doctor never told me that it would be a natural birth until I was in hard labor. The nurses kept snerking between them about how I'd forgotten all my Lamaze tips. I'd never HAD any Lamaze classes. I finally got tired of it and said so. Then I asked about the epidural, they told me "We don't do that at this hospital". My reaction wasn't pretty. When the nurses finally got a clue that I'd had no idea it was a natural birth, they stopped being so nasty. It certainly could have been a better experience.
That is so sad.
My first experience was a nightmare with nasty nurses.
After that I switched hospitals after I got good word/of/mouth recommendations.
It was a longer drive, but worth it.
So births 2-6 were “natural” -they gave me shots of staydol, but no epi.
The babies were getting bigger so 7&8 required inducement and epidurals.
I learned you have to whine for the epi long before you actually need it. From the time you start whining and they make the call to order up the medicine and find the anasthesiologist, it’s an hour before they actually walk into your room.
I tell all first time moms - start whining at 4 centimeters! And be really annoying about it!