Time Frame

• A natural birth takes longer. Women who strive for natural childbirth typically choose to refuse medications that speed up labor, meaning that they labor longer.
  
  

Pain

• While the pain of natural childbirth has a purpose, and has been reported to be intoxicating, it is often considered a drawback.
  
  

More Alert Babies

• A prolonged labor with medication involved can result in a baby that's less responsive and alert. A natural birth doesn't involve medications, so there's no chance that the baby would be exposed.
  
  

Exhaustion

• Natural birth is exhausting. Spending sometimes up to 36 hours contracting rarely used muscles and then a few more hours pushing a child into the world has been compared to running a marathon.
  
  

Warning

• People's birth experiences are all individual and your friends and family may have birth-horror-stories that they offer up, tempting you to decide on a medical or natural birth, using their story as evidence. Do your own research and make your own decisions.
  
  

Empowerment

• Women who have experienced a natural birth report it to be empowering. Persevering through a difficult task can make women feel strong and powerful.