Pain Management

http://markii.wordpress.com/2006/11/28/british-scientists-have-just-confirmed-a-link-between-head-size-and-intelligence/

This concerns me. If this is true, then my problem is such: The smarter our child, the more painful it will be to squeeze him through my vagina, and I'd like a smart kid. It hurts me already just thinking about cranium size.

I like to think that I have a decent ability to endure (I've been miserably sick and endured; I've run 7 miles and endured; I've endured dental work, family history, and bad drug experiences.). I like to think that I have a high pain threshhold (I've sat for tattoos for 5 hours straight; I've had root canals; I've been subjected to really questionable music). Unfortunately, I have no idea what to expect. The very fact that it's known as "labor" should be taken as a warning.

To epidural or not to epidural? That is the question:

Why be in pain if I don't have to?

Well, women have dealt with the pain of childbirth since the chicken or the egg.

Yes, but these women might have accepted pain relief if it were available to them.

Yes, but the ability to endure is the same reason that people run marathons. Maybe I don't want pain relief because I want to see if I can do it without.

I've heard that a woman has better control over the situation emotionally when she gets the epidural.

I've heard that sometimes a woman can't push properly with the epidural, and so they give her Pitocin, which rips her vagina open like a piñata.

What if my labor proceeds very quickly? Then I won't need the epidural.

What if my labor proceeds at such pace that I miss the opportunity for the epidural?

What if my labor goes on forever because Scooter has an enormous brain, and I end up needing a c-section because I can't push out his cranium?