it's incredibly important to mention in these kinds of articles that induction results in contractions that usually come up to full strength (=pain) at the start of the labour process, making an epidural basically inevitable. Epidurals aren't just because you "want to feel nothing". Three hours of full strength, maximum pain contractions isn't something a mother can normally deal with. I was induced, and then did most of the labour on a ward alone in the middle of the night with the assistance of two paracetamol, because the midwife on duty thought it too early to examine me and that I was being an over-sensitive first-time mum. Husband not allowed in because it was outside visiting hours and I wasn't yet in the delivery suite. Not how I'd choose to do it again... When I was finally examined and very quickly whisked to delivery, gas and air did the job. Hadn't felt that tipsy in ages. I had no problem with the idea of an epidural, but was too late for one and coped OK without. Gas and air also helped massively for the stitches after, which was one of the most painful parts! I had a water birth with both my babies and it was great in many ways, especially as a form of pain relief (I guess it's the warmth of the water that does it) but a word of warning: a) it can really slow labour down if you get in too early and this happened to